Viva la Deviants
by PokeSpeBanette
Summary: Everyone is born different. It's a fact of life- accept it and move on. But sometimes a person is born too different. Sometimes a person deviates from the thing you call 'normal'. My name is Green Oak . . . and I am Deviant.
1. Chapter 1- City of Deviants

Renny: Hey everyone, and welcome to the remake of _Redemption_ , _Viva la Deviants_!

Green: Well the good news is at least I don't die in this.

Renny: Aren't Ghosts already dead?

Green: *pauses* I . . . I have no clue, actually.

Renny: Yeah neither do I. Well, okay, how about this- technically you don't die.

Green: That'll do.

Renny: Awesome. I'll be putting myself into this, as a girl named Toni Lithium, because for some reason that name is now officially my taken name or something (if you haven't read _Skulduggery Pleasant_ , you will never get that reference) so that's what I'm calling her. She also has my team from HeartGold because I wanted to put them in, but I can't have them as Green's team because yeah.

Green: Also apparently you've been spelling legendary wrong ever since you started spelling it.

Renny: Yeah I literally found out last night- I looked in a dictionary and found that it was legendary, not legendry. I'm an idiot.

Green: Are Red and Blue still gonna have the roles they had in Redemption or what?

Renny: Well the plot's entirely different, so probably not. But if I can get them in somehow, they'll be how they were meant to be, not . . . whatever weird versions I made them into. Anyway, do the disclaimer and we'll get on with crap.

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

Everyone is born different. It's a fact of life- accept it and move on. But sometimes a person is born _too_ different. Sometimes a person deviates from the thing you call _'normal'._

Most people would call these people mutants, like from the _X-Men_ or something. But no, their talents, these things that make them _too different_ , are much more specific than the variations that mutants are known for.

They are the Deviants.

Unlike in the _X-Men_ , they're a well-kept secret. When a Deviant is found, they are taken away from their original life to live in a mostly-underground facility (it's more like that Zion, the underground city, from the _Matrix_ actually) with the above-ground part acting as a cover-up in the form of an engineering company.

Most aren't happy with how they get uprooted, because they were happy where they were- but they understand the need for secrecy. Others . . . are actually glad to get away from their lives.

I suppose comparing Deviants to mutants isn't really the right thing to do. Like I said before, they're different- more specific. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that they're more like human pokemon than anything else.

Why? Because Deviants have types. You know, like Fire, Water, Grass, Ground, whatever.

So, what is this? I guess it's my story.

My name is Green Oak . . . and I am Deviant.

 **oooo**

 _Swoosh._

"Stop! Making! Me! _Miss_!"

"Aren't you a Fighting type?"

 _Swoosh._

"Yes!"

"So . . ."

 _Swoosh._

"Whatever you throw at me won't work. I'm immune."

Pause.

The heavyset man stepped back, unclenching his fists. He blinked.

" . . . Oh." he said.

The small boy with bright green eyes gave him an unimpressed look.

"It's basic type disadvantages." he said dissaprovingly. His body was slightly translucent, but as he spoke, he switched back to being tangible, his body becoming opaque as he did so. "You should know this."

"Well I'm sorry, but I don't have a photographic memory like you!" the heavyset man snapped.

The green eyed boy rolled his eyes and stepped off the fighting mat, and crouched down to take a hold of the shoes outside of the edge of the mat. He made no move to put them on, though.

"I don't have a photographic memory, my abilities just allow me to sort through my memories like photos or movies." he corrected the man.

That only served to make the heavyset man glare at him harder, but the green eyed boy just gave the man half a smile and raised eyebrows, and he walked off towards the door- where a large, red dragon with a flame at the tip of its tail sat waiting for him.

 _"That went well."_ the dragon commented with a smirk.

"He's an idiot."

 _"A powerful idiot, but you could have easily just Psychic'd him across the room."_ the dragon rumbled. They went out the door and walked down a lit corridor. There were no windows in the walls, mostly because they were underground and the sight of rocks would bore everyone, and the boy was once again reminded of his slight taphophobia.

They passed a few people, some of them kids like him, some older kids, but mostly they were adults- many of them wore the suits that were mostly associated with being in the government and all that, but some didn't.

"I didn't want to insult his intelligence by pointing that out. I'm smarter than he is, that . . . whatever it was proved it." the boy shrugged. He wasn't going to call it a fight, it was barely even an exercise.

 _"Smarter."_ the dragon repeated flatly. He looked down at the boy and rolled his wings. _"This coming from the kid who named me after a black Flygon from a CGI animated movie."_

"Toothless is awesome, I don't see the problem!" the boy cried indignantly.

 _"He has retractable teeth. He is also a Flygon. He also does not exist. I have teeth that aren't retractable. I am a Charizard. I actually exist."_ the dragon listed.

"Well if you prefer I could change your name to Scales . . .?" the boy trailed off suggestively.

 _"Toothless is the best name I have ever heard."_

"That's what I thought."

 _"Smug little mother fu-"_

"And we're stopping right there."

They kept going until they came to a four-way corridor, and then Toothless and the green eyed boy took the one to their left. This took them to a curved corridor with one side made from glass, showing the interior of the underground facility- luckily, not a bunch of rocks and instead a giant open space.

They followed the corridor to a lift that was big enough to fit ten humans and a few large pokemon inside comfortably. Toothless pressed the button reading 'floor 68' and under the floor number were the words 'Deviant dorm floor'.

Currently the lift was lit up on floor 59, which was the gym/dojo floor- well, one of them anyway. There were actually several, since it would be silly to have just one entire floor dedicated to training and stuff, also slightly impractical since one floor couldn't have everything a gym/dojo would need.

The green eyed boy turned around and leaned on the railing in the back of the lift. He looked out of the glass wall of the lift.

Outside the lift was one of the most impressive underground facilities anyone would have ever seen- it was also the largest and the only one able to house all those that it was home to. If the boy had to compare it to anything, he'd say the facility was less like a . . . well, facility, and more like a giant underground city (like the one from _Matrix_ ) with a hell of a lot of different floors.

In the middle there was just an empty space, but there were perches and hovering platforms. Even as they looked out of the windows, the green eyed boy could see a few Flying pokemon and Deviants going to and from the perches, hovering platforms and the platforms attached to the metal walls of the city (the higher ups had tried to stop people from calling it a city, but it made more sense than facility, so they just gave up after a few years).

Eventually the lift _dinged_ softly, and Toothless and the green eyed boy got off. Seconds later the lift doors closed and it went off downwards to pick up some other people who wanted to use it. That lift wasn't the only one, but it was one of the most used ones.

 _"Have you seen Tiago lately?"_ Toothless asked.

The green eyed boy didn't answer. His eyes flashed a strange purple colour. As the two walked down the corridor, the glass walls showing the city to their left, he was silent for several seconds. Then he blinked, and suddenly the purple was gone from his eyes.

"No." he answered. "I've looked, but I can't see him anywhere in my memories."

 _"What has that bird been doing . . ."_

The green eyed boy shrugged.

As they had been walking, the boy and Toothless had gone past doors with numbers on them. This was the dorm floor, so each of the numbered doors led to a different dorm common room that was home to eight Deviants- two to an individual dorm, and four indiviual dorms in the common room in total, two dorms on each side of the room.

There were five rooms in the individual dorms. The living room was basically the front room, as it always had the front door in it. With your back to the front door, on the left wall there was a door leading to the first bedroom, and on the right was a door leading to the second. On the opposite wall was the door leading to the kitchen, and beside that, the bathroom.

They eventually came to a door that read '15', and the green eyed boy pushed open the door to the warmly lit common room. If he had to compare it to anything (like how he, and many others, compared the underground city to the city from the _Matrix_ ) he would say it sort of resembled the Gryffindor common room from Harry Potter, only a bit more spaced out since there was only eight people living there.

Currently, six out of eight of the dorms occupants were lounging around on the armchairs, sofas and pillows/cushions/whatever-the-hell-the-large-fluffy-things-were. Most were watching the TV, which was a flat screen that was attached to the wall opposite the common room front door. The last two were reading a book and ignoring everyone, or playing a DS in the corner.

"Hey, there he is!" one of the three (now four, since the boy had walked in) males in the room cried out upon noticing him walking in with Toothless. He stood up and grinned down at the green eyed boy.

He was a tall man, lean, built for running. That didn't mean he wasn't strong, he was just really fast. His hair stood up like it had been shocked recently, though it wasn't smoking, and it was a weird yellow colour that reminded the boy a little of live electricity.

"Was there something going on?" the boy asked. Toothless detached himself from the boy's side to mingle with the other pokemon littered around the room, whose chatter rose to a happy pitch as he was greeted with warmth.

"Uh yeah, Toni just broke through the Kanto League's firewalls." the electric man informed him.

Instantly the boy was alert, and slightly pissed. "What?" he demanded. "Why the hell didn't anyone call me?"

"Sorry, we got a bit excited." one of the females in the room- a woman with wavy brown hair- grinned sheepishly. She glanced at the TV, which, now that the boy had a chance to observe it, looked like it was playing some sort of high-tech Space Invaders game. "Toni and Sparkless have actually gotten into the mainframe, but right now they're having some issues. Mostly because some weirdo decided that the last firewall is a really intense game of Space Invaders."

"And I thought the city's firewalls were weird." the boy muttered.

He made his way through the sea of cushions and pillows (because for some reason the dormmates he shared the common room with really, really loved having pillows and cushions _everywhere_ ) and found a seat on a dark blue and white pillow that was probably large enough to fit half the room's occupants on it.

The boy sitting next to him- with pure white hair and deep pink/red eyes- gave him a shy smile and then turned his attention back to the screen.

The electric man who had first noticed the boy was called Zoran, or as he was more commonly known as, Zo. He was an Electric Deviant, and his hair certainly showed it perfectly. He occasionally never knew when to shut up, and he was also the second-fastest of the group.

The woman with the wavy brown hair was Ashley. She was probably the most intelligent of the dormmates, and wasn't afraid to give people or pokemon shit if she thought they deserved it. She was a Water/Flying Deviant.

The boy with the albino hair and the pink/red eyes was Kai, and he was generally seen with the little golden Vulpix that never left his side. Her name was Zorina. They were both a little shy, but they fit together perfectly because they were both Fire types.

A man sitting in one of the armchairs, reading a book that the green eyed boy didn't even understand (it was in Russian), barely even glanced up as the disruption became a bit louder (mostly because of the pokemon in the room). He had long black hair and a dark scowl to match, and he was Russian- there was also a Weavile settled on the top of the armchair with a few nicks and scratches on his body. The man's name was Adrik and the Weavile was just Weavile. Adrik was an Ice type.

A silver haired girl was sitting nearby, on one of the two sofas in front of the TV. She was called Anna, and she was a Steel Deviant- and for some reason she chose to have her bones permenantly made from steel. Some Steel types could do that, but no one really knew how, and the Steel types couldn't describe how they did it. Probably instinctual or something.

A young woman that was keeping apart from everyone (and this was even counting Adrik the Russian) in the corner had long black hair. She was called Kiara, and she was a Dark Deviant who mostly surrounded herself with her Dark types. There was a Darkrai settled next to her, his ice blue eyes watchful- his name was Dark.

The last of the room's occupants was currently inside of cyberspace, in other words the TV, playing Space Invaders with her partner. Or breaking into the Kanto League database, whatever.

"How far has she gotten?" the boy asked.

"I told you, she's on the last leg." Ashley reminded him.

"I mean how far has she gotten through this firewall?"

"Well . . ." Kai spoke up quietly. "Zo thinks she's gotten halfway through. Adrik says she only just got past level 2."

"Level 2?" the boy frowned.

Anna answered him this time, nodding. "According to Adrik, there should be about eight levels in total for this. She's gotten past two, so that means Toni and Sparkless aren't doing well."

"How does he know there's eight levels?"

"I just do." Adrik muttered, not even bothering to look up from his book. "You English do not understand how I know things, and you do not care."

"I'm Scottish," Ashley frowned. "Not English."

"Do I look like I care?"

"Hey Green, think you could try and help Toni out?" Ashley asked.

The boy- Green- glanced at her. "Maybe." he said. "If she can get me into the game, I should be able to help her with blasting these things apart. Uh . . . wait, does the League know we're breaking in?"

"No," Zo grinned. "Ashley managed to keep them on the trail of a ghost virus, so Toni's able to just go wherever she wants to."

"Awesome. Toni!" Green called.

One of the two digital shapes facing off against the bunch of alien ships paused. The second one continued blasting things apart merrily. Words appeared on the screen.

 **What?** they read.

"Get me in, I'll help out."

 **Bit busy- Sparkless and me aren't doing that well.**

"Well then, it'll be a relief to have a Psychic type, right?"

 **That . . . yeah actually you might be able to help. Okay, switch on the Ghost Phase thing, I'll grab you.**

Green himself was a Ghost/Pyshic type- as far as anyone knew, there was no other Deviant with that type combo. As such he was pretty powerful, and it also allowed him to get into places most people couldn't, and that also included getting pulled into cyberspace with Toni and her partner.

He turned slightly translucent as he turned on the ability that most people called Ghost Phasing, and then the TV started to crackle with blue electricity.

And then suddenly that electricity was shooting towards him, and then he was inside of cyberspace.

The game looked completely different when he was inside of the TV. The only thing that was mostly the same was the fact that they were currently 'floating' in space (or cyberspace, whatever), and the rest- even the aliens- was nearly totally different. The aliens were more like cyber bugs or something, and everything looked vaguely normal except for the whole 'being in cyberspace' thing. There were also three shield-type things above him, which looked more like giant balls of flames rather than the pixelated stuff that Space Invaders normally had.

"Welcome to the party." someone said.

Green turned around. A girl was floating in cyberspace with her arms crossed, a grin across her face. She had dark red hair and wore a black bandana, and for some reason she was still wearing that weird Umbreon hat she'd gotten a few months ago on her birthday.

A Rotom was zipping around past the fire shields, which Green assumed were supposed to represent the firewalls or something, and was going after everything that moved and wasn't human or pokemon.

"Adrik says there's eight levels." Green informed her.

Toni shrugged. "Yeah, I heard him. Sucks, but hey, that's life right? Sparkless!"

The Rotom glanced down at them, grinned upon noticing Green, and let out a high-pitched shriek of glee.

"Hey Sparkless." Green greeted him as he zipped down to say hi.

 _"Hey how's it going Greenie oh yeah Toni I think these bug thingies are dying out you might wanna do something before I_ _ **eat**_ _them all BYE!"_

He zipped off, leaving a trail of faint lightning in his wake. Green looked at Toni, who shrugged.

"He's feeding off the bug things, I think. He's gone a little bit nuts."

"A little bit? He's bouncing off the walls." Green told her.

Toni shrugged again and looked back up at the bugs that were rapidly being . . . wow, they actually were being eaten by Sparkless. That was so weird, even for them.

Toni was a Ghost/Electric Deviant- hence why she and Sparkless got on so well. Sometimes that happened, actually. A Deviant would find a pokemon that they were specially connected with, who would then become their partner. Zorina was Kai's partner, Weavile was Adrik's, Dark was Kiara's and, obviously, Sparkless was Toni's partner.

The others, including Green, had yet to find their own partner. But no one wanted to rush things, because that would just force the connection and probably screw it up completely, and they'd never find their partner. Occasionally the partner pokemon wasn't the same type as the Deviant, but most of the time they were. That was the main reason why most connections were made in the first place.

"Might have been an idea to have Erwin or Needleless with us. You know, since these things sort of need to be Cut down to size." Toni commented.

Green looked at her.

"What? It was a good joke! Oh come on Spangles."

"Stop referencing _Avengers Assemble_ , I'm not wearing a spangly outfit."

Toni rolled her eyes and looked up at Sparkless and the bug alien things. "Shall we play a game?"

"Stop it. And don't you normally check for EMPs first?" Green frowned.

"Already did that, like, three times so far. Hi, Tony Lithium- paranoid bastard, nice to meet you." Toni grinned at him.

"Stop referencing _Supernatural_ and start ripping those stupid things apart."

"Yes sir." she said. Toni mock-saluted and sped off into the fight, her hands and feet spread out as beneath her if she was wearing a battle suit.

"And stop pretending you're Iron Man!" Green shouted after her.

His only answer was maniacal laughter.

Green watched her for a second, joining the fight with as much enthusiasm as her partner. They both zipped around each other perfectly as if they'd been born as fraternal twins or something, and Green could scarcely believe that they'd only known each other for somewhere over three years.

After a few seconds of just watching them, he decided to get a move on. Mostly because he could practically feel the confusion from the room he'd left behind, most likely wondering why the third shape on the screen wasn't moving.

He shot off into the battle and grabbed a few of the bug things using Psychic, and smashed some together while he threw the rest he'd grabbed at the firewalls.

His guess was that the bugs were the defenders, and the firewalls were the shields- that meant he, Toni and Sparkless were the invaders. So they'd have to break the firewalls before they could destroy the bugs- that would probably make the bugs scatter because they wouldn't have a clear objective beyond 'protect the firewalls'.

Toni and Sparkless hadn't thought of this yet, obviously. Sparkless didn't because he was having too much fun literally eating the bugs, and Toni couldn't because her thinking pattern was too confusing to allow her to focus on solving more than one issue at a time. Toni was focused on getting rid of the bugs.

So that left Green with the job to get rid of the firewalls.

He'd already gone past the giant shields to get at the first lot of bugs, so he turned around, trusting Toni and Sparkless to have his back even if they didn't know what he was doing, and focused his Psychic on the three firewalls.

And was promptly thrown back by an invisble force from all three of the firewalls.

He hit a couple of bugs and ended up angering several more, but luckily Toni zipped past and short-circuited them all by going through one and shooting off the effects to the others with a stream of electricity.

"What're you doing with the shields?" Toni called to him as she threw a few of the dead bugs at some others that were trying to sneak up on them.

"We need to take down the firewalls- the shields, that is." Green quickly explained. "Once we do that, these things will most likely scatter, they won't have a clear mission anymore."

"So they'll be easier to kill!"

Even if her thinking pattern was confusing, she was quick enough to get what he meant.

"Got it!" Toni nodded. "Me and Sparkless'll keep the damn things off you, just break the shields. And go for them one at a time, I felt them blast some sort of EMP at you when you tried to take them all at once."

So that's what that blast was.

"One at a time." Green repeated, and then he shot off back to the shields.

This time he gripped just one firewall with a Psychic blast, and it came apart like some glowing, burning jigsaw puzzle. The other seemed to acknowledge the loss of the first firewall, and they glowed more brightly in response. That would probably meant it was gonna get harder to get rid of the firewalls.

Well, he did like a challenge, and this was gonna be so much more fun than that stupid training session with Aaron earlier.

Green tried grabbing a second firewall, but somehow they'd seemed to learn from how he'd taken the first one apart, and it resisted his pull. The firewall, along with its buddy, sent another EMP at him but Green quickly Teleported through the blast before it even reached him.

Instead of just pulling the second one apart, he shot a blast of Psybeam that was charged up by a bit of Psychic, which pretty much incinerated it to tiny pieces upon impact.

The third firewall hit him with an EMP he'd been too busy to notice, and Green was shoved back into more bugs- and this time he could feel the damage done.

"Stop playing with it and break the damn thing already!" Toni shouted.

"I can't!" Green shouted back. "It knows what to expect from me by now!"

Toni frowned for a second, got distracted with a few dozen bugs which she Thundered away with such ease it would have made Green laugh if he hadn't been trying to figure out what the damage from the EMP did to him, and then turned back to him.

She was silent for a few seconds.

And then-

"SPARKLESS, ZAP IT!"

Sparkless stopped eating one of the bugs and spun around, his electrified face grinning. Green quickly Teleported out of his range, and Toni shoved a few of the bugs into the blast range with a sadistic grin.

Sparkless used Thunder Beam.

The bugs were vaporised by just being within ten feet of the blast, and the swirling, twisting and sparking beam of pure thunder and lightning blasted right at the firewall.

The Thunder Beam hit the shield dead on, but it did almost nothing- at first, anyway. The firewall was pushed back a few feet, and then Green started to see it turning redder than it already was. The Beam started to pulse and intensify, and then it broke through the firewall.

And then the Thunder Beam started to burn the rest of the shield up, and suddenly it was gone entirely.

"I see you've finally gotten Thunder Beam working." Green commented.

"Took forever. I'm gonna try and learn it next- I can already use Thunder and Charge Beam, so I got that bit down. Sparkless says it's basically combining the two equally instead of charging one with the other." Toni shrugged.

The bugs that were left were happily eaten, short-circuited and pulled apart duly.

 **oooo**

 **"Try the next file, this one's boring as fuck."** Ashley said. **"And hack it faster, please, the ghost virus might not work for much longer."**

"You try clicking it then, I'm tired." Toni retorted.

Green rolled his eyes and hit one of the files that were floating around in the cyberspace. Now it looked less like actual space and more like digital space, so Green guessed they were in the mainframe or the main database or something.

It came up with a red UNAUTHORISED and he blasted the words with Confusion, and then the file was open. Green sent it over to the little window where he, Toni and Sparkless were basically Skyping with the others.

"There, now stop complaining and start memorising." he ordered.

Ashley was the only one out of all of them who had a photographic memory. A lot of people assumed that Green, Adrik and Anna had a photographic memory, but Green could just shift through his own memories to find what he needed, Adrik was generally so damn mysterious that for all they knew he might be some sort of genetic weirdo, and Anna just had a good memory.

So it mostly fell to Ashley and occasionally Adrik to memorise things so they could write them down in their Database, which was a little private website that the group of eight had created. Toni and Sparkless, with the help of Ashley, had made it completely unhackable, and only those who had been biologically filtered into the passcode system could access it. They'd even Transform-proofed it.

The Database was their own private information site. It had been filled with every single bit of pokemon data they could find, on both the internet and the databases of every agency they could find and a few more they probably shouldn't have been able to find, but then they got bored of just having a pokemon Database. Or, well, Ashley and Toni got bored.

They decided to make it into a Database for whatever they could find, and the better protected it was, the harder it was to get to, the more they wanted the information in the Database.

And all this was going down onto their Database.

And Green didn't even know what half of the stuff he was grabbing even was. Oh well, so sad, so bad, nevermind.

Sparkless flitted around between him and Toni, still sort of hyper on the probably hundreds of bugs he'd eaten a few minutes ago. He wasn't that hyper that he knew not to touch any of the files, because otherwise he'd either break them or short them out or something else. Green guessed he was spending the leftover energy on the dashing thing.

"Hey, have you ever seen _11 Drunk Guys Play_?" Toni suddenly asked.

"Uh . . . can't say that I have, why? And what are they playing?" Green asked her.

 _"It's a really really funny YouTube channel video thingy it's basically 11 drunk dudes play terrifying games our favourite is_ 11 Drunk Guys Play Slenderman _because it's hilarious you should watch it dude."_ Sparkless pretty much squealed.

"What he said." Toni nodded.

Green had to take several seconds of sorting through his memories to figure out what it was that Sparkless had even _said_ in the first place.

"Oh, uh, okay? Why are you bringing this up now?"

 **"What's the hold-up, you sissies?"** Ashley called. **"Helloooooo?"**

"Here, have another one." Green threw an unlocked file at the Skype screen and she squeaked happily upon discovering something Green didn't care about. He turned back to Toni once Ashley was occupied for a few seconds. "Why bring it up now?"

"Conversation, I get bored of awkward silences." Toni shrugged, already in the process of breaking apart a few locks on some really top-secret file.

"It wasn't awkward."

"To you."

 _"Guys stop being boring and hack stuff I wanna see red words go BOOM."_ Sparkless broke into the conversation . . . or whatever it was.

Toni broke a couple more locks, even as she spoke. "I just wanted to know if you'd be interested in it. I mean, Zo's seen it, Ashley's seen it, Kai's seen it, Anna's seen it, Adrik's seen it, hell even Kiara's seen it. You ain't though. That is sad."

"So you want me to get on the wagon?" Green raised an eyebrow as he found a couple more unlocked files and threw them at the Skype screen.

"The Drunk Guys Wagon rocks, dude."

Green rolled his eyes.

They spent the next few minutes finding and blasting apart locks, and then sending thins over to Ashley, who had by now started to just copy the entire file onto one of their own so they'd be able to get more stuff faster.

It was going great, or as great as hacking into one of the Leagues could be, until . . .

"Hey, you."

Green heard the voice but he didn't register it, and only noticed that something was wrong when Toni stopped picking apart the CLASSIFIED file she was working on.

He turned around.

" . . . Shit." he muttered.

In front of them was another Rotom, obviously not Sparkless because this one wasn't zipping around like it was on a sugar rush, and also obviously not Sparkless because there were two guys in suits standing on either side of it.

"How'd you get into our system?" the younger of the two Suits asked.

"Uhhh . . ." Toni blinked at him.

The Leagues didn't know about Deviants, because they were mostly seperate divisions of the government. So if they said anything that would compromise their own safety and that of the city's, they were dead.

Luckily, they had a Rotom of their own, so their presence could be explained away easily.

But what they were doing was harder to lie about.

"I'll ask again, how did you get in here?" the younger Suit demanded.

"We . . . got lost." Green tried. Even as the words left his digital mouth he knew they were flimsy.

And yep, there we go, the two Suits exchanged flat looks that clearly screamed 'we don't believe this boy'. Dammit.

"Kids, you'd better answer him immidiately." the older Suit said. "And no lying."

Green bit his lip and looked to his side, as if he was ashamed of being caught- but really he was checking that the Skype box was gone. Ashley seemed to have gotten it down just in time, because the Suits didn't ask why there was a woman in a little box. Thank Mew for that.

 _"We're doomed aren't we we are so gonna get arrested but hey at least we had some fun right?"_ Sparkless said.

Toni and Green didn't answer him. If they answered Sparkless, the Suits would wonder how they understood what Sparkless had said- and to be honest, neither of them knew how to explain that away, other than them both being psychics (which were totally different to Deviant Psychics), and that might make the Suits try and take them away to be tested or something like that.

Green might be able to pass as a psychic, but Toni had no abilities like that at all. They would reveal the existance of Deviants in the process of the Suits testing them for psychic . . . ness . . . and then the public would know, and it'd be just like the _X-Men_ \- only worse, because Deviants were technically a hell of a lot more powerful.

Sparkless looked between the two of them and then at the Rotom that was between the two Suits.

 _"Hi!"_ he cried. _"How're you doing I'm Sparkless!"_

 _"Hello."_ the other Rotom said. _"I believe your humans are tresspassing."_

 _"We're just playing aren't we just playing we're having so much fun hey there was a Space Invaders game and it was really fun wasn't that fun?"_

The other Rotom looked confused.

 _At least his weird babble comes in handy sometimes,_ Green thought. If the other Rotom thought they were a threat, it would attack them, and the Suits would follow it. If it was too confused to attack, they wouldn't do anything.

Sparkless might have been a hyper little weirdo of a pokemon, but he was smart when it counted.

Green quickly came up with a story, mostly based on what Sparkless had just told the other Rotom.

"Uh, we were just playing." he said, forcing an innocent smile on his face. Toni glanced at him and tilted her head like she normally did when she was confused, but in this instance it made her look like a little girl- perfect (if he didn't mention this later, no one would blame him). "Me and Phoebe and Roro were on some website that let us play Space Invaders. We . . . well, we thought this was a new level or something."

Please let them believe that.

"Oh?" the younger Suit raised an eyebrow. "And why were you blasting apart the classified files? _How_ were you blasting apart the classified files?"

"We thought it was part of the game." Toni told him, catching on quick enough. "You know, we get superpowers to hack into the alien's files and take them down from the inside or something? Space Invaders can get really intense sometimes."

Green snickered slightly. "Yeah, remember that time you got mad at the game 'cus you kept getting killed?"

"Not my fault, the stupid aliens kept shooting me!" Toni cried.

If they kept this up long enough, the Suits and the Rotom might let them go with a warning or something.

And it looked like it was working. The younger Suit rolled his eyes and muttered something to the older Suit, but Green concentrated on their minds instead of their words- or, well, their digital minds- and heard little bits of what they felt.

The younger Suit felt like he'd wasted his time, and the older Suit felt like he was better off doing something else. Neither of them wanted to deal with a couple of kids who thought they'd gotten into a really intense game of Space Invaders. It helped that Toni and Green were both twelve, too.

"We'll let you off." the older Suit finally said, looking back at them. "But if we see you here again, we'll have to assume you're here stealing our files for an enemy agency. Alright, kids?"

"Oh, okay sir." Toni nodded slightly. "We won't go onto the next Space Invaders level next time!"

"You do that." the younger Suit told her.

"Okay Roro, take us back to our bedroom." Toni said, turning to Sparkless.

Without these guys watching them, Sparkless would have normally gone on ahead back to the real world without them, and Toni would have pulled Green back on her own. But they couldn't do that with the Suits right in front of them, so Toni and Green each took a hold of one of Sparkless's lighting hand things (Toni called them hands) and waved bye to the two Suits-

And then suddenly they were back in the common room with everyone except Adrik and Kiara crowding around them.

"Oh my Mew, are you two okay?" Ashley cried, pulling them both up to their feet almost painfully. Sparkless zipped over to the group of pokemon who had by now stopped chatting and were watching the screen- and then the group of Deviants- tensely.

"We're fine, the Suits bought the 'lost little kids' trick." Green informed her.

"Thank Arceus you're both okay." Anna sighed. She was cuddling her Aron, Tank, who looked really uncomfortable at this point. It really said something about her strength when a Steel/Rock type was uncomfortable in her arms.

"Yeah, next time you want government secrets, get them yourself." Toni told Ashley.

"The next one I'm hoping for is the CIA or the FBI."

"Comment retracted, I'm in." Toni grinned and clapped her hands happily.

 **oooo**

 _"And they bought it."_ Needleless said flatly. The Beedrill was sitting on the sofa of Toni and Green's living room in their individual dorm, listening to their recount of what happened in cyberspace, and currently she looked a bit more than pissed at them.

"Uh yeah, why wouldn't they?" Toni asked.

 _"Perhaps because they're Suits and they know bullshitters when they see them."_

A Scyther spoke up carefully as he walked in with a few plates of food balanced on his blades. _"You do realise Deviants may have been discovered if they had tried to take you in?"_ he told them.

Green took the plates in his Psychic grip and floated them over to everyone in their living room before answering.

"At least we _did_ get away," he said. "And Deviants remain a mystery and a secret to the Leagues."

 _"Yeah Erwin lighten up stop being like Erwin you're actually not him you know."_ Sparkless giggled.

Erwin frowned at him. He really did act like the character he was named after, Erwin Smith that is, and for some reason everyone saw it but him. _"I have no idea what you're talking about, now be quiet."_

 _"What about my food don't I get food I want food."_

 _"You ate like a ton of those bug things,"_ Toothless snorted. _"How is that you're still hungry?"_

"He's a bottomless pit!" Toni cried, grinning.

 _"Perhaps you should have called him Bottomless, instead."_ Needleless said.

"Sparkless sounds better."

 _"It makes just about as much sense as Needleless."_ Needleless deadpanned.

"Well, yeah, it's contradictory."

"Do you even know what that means?" Green asked curiously.

"Not a clue." Toni smiled.

Before anyone could say anything to that, they were interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

 _" . . . Were we expecting anyone?"_ Erwin eventually asked.

Whoever was on the other side knocked again patiently.

"Can't be one of the others, they'd just barge in." Toni muttered. "Someone open the door."

No one moved, so Green just grabbed the handle and opened it from his spot on one of the fluffy cushions he was sitting on.

A man who most would have said was old walked in. 'Would have said' because, despite his age, he actually looked younger- kinda like Gibbs from _NCIS_. In fact, if the man didn't have dark brown-black hair, Green might have said he looked almost like Gibbs' twin or whatever. The man was the Director of the Deviant branch of the government- his name was Max Neron.

A Pidgeot trailed after him grumpily.

"Whatever Tiago did, I had no part in it." Green said instantly.

" . . . I was going to say I'd found your Pidgeot, but if you immidiately assume he did something wrong, I would like to know what it was he was doing in the cafeteria." Director Neron raised an eyebrow.

 _"Nothing."_ Tiago said indignantly. _"I wasn't doing anything!"_

"Oh really." Green said flatly.

 _"I find that hard to believe."_ Toothless told Tiago.

 _"I find that hurtful."_ Tiago retorted.

Neron barely raised an eyebrow. He wasn't a Deviant, so he couldn't understand what the pokemon were saying- but he seemed to get the gist of the conversation.

"Moving on," he said. "I didn't just come here to bring back your troublesome Pidgeot."

 _"Hey!"_ Tiago snapped.

The old man ignored him. "Do you mind if I sit down?" he asked, gesturing to the sofa that Needleless was still commandeering.

Needleless glared at him for a second, but she nodded and shuffled over to one side. Neron sat down and looked at Toni and Green.

"So uh . . . what is it?" Green asked. Did Neron know about the League hacking they'd done? He pulled the door shut absently, almost completely focused on Neron. Tiago grumbled but he shuffled further into the room and settled down nearby Toothless.

"First of all, I want to ask you something." the man said. "How much do you know about Johto?"

Green almost cheered. He wasn't going to ask them about the little misadventure in cyberspace they'd had earlier, thank Mew- but that left Green sort of wondering why he was here and why he was asking about Johto.

"Uh, not much." Toni frowned. "I know the Kanto League has a joint League with Johto, but that's about it really."

Green knew a lot more, but he said nothing because Neron already knew that.

"Well," Neron said, leaning forward and putting his elbows on his knees. He laced his fingers together and looked at Toni and Green over the top. "It looks like you're going to get the oppertunity to learn much more about it, Toni."

"Um . . . what."

"Kids, pack your things." Neron smiled at them and leaned back. "You're going to Johto."

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: I kept on changing what was being said during the last scene because I had no clue what to say. So I just changed it to that and ended it here because I'm kinda itching to put this up, like, yesterday.

Green: I have to say, I didn't expect you to show off their powers so soon. I sort of expected you to wait until chapter 2 or 3 or something.

Renny: Establishing character moments need to be established, so whatever. If anyone didn't get the teams that Green and Toni have at the moment, they are as follows:

 **Green**

Toothless- Charizard, male, hardy, somewhat of a clown

Tiago- Pidgeot, male, naughty, likes to fight

Erwin- Scyther, male, serious, thoroughly cunning

 **Toni**

Sparkless- Rotom, male, naughty, impetuous and silly

Needleless- Beedrill, female, adamant, quick to flee

Renny: Sparkless is Toni's partner, in case anyone missed that. I'm still trying to figure out what Green's partner could be, and whether or not it could be one of the team from Johto.

Green: It'll be something else entirely, you watch.

Renny: Hush you. If anyone wants to know who Green's team are named after, just ask! But if you don't already know then shame on you for not knowing some of the most popular films/TV series ever. Read and review, and please let me know if this is good so far!


	2. Chapter 2- The Mission

Renny: Okay, I'm bored already, so I'll keep this AN short. That is to say, I'm bored of the AN already, not the story- also I just got a great idea for how Toni's Johto starter can be characterized, so I wanna get into this.

Green: I thought you wanted to use this file for the second chapter of _Lessons to be Learnt_.

Renny: NO SHHHHH DON'T TELL THEM ABOUT THAT FIC.

Green: Bit late for it now.

Toni: Ooooh this is a cool room.

Renny: . . . How is she- you know what, I don't wanna bloody know. Someone do the disclaimer.

Toni: Hey can I do it?

Renny: Yeah sure.

Toni: Renny doesn't own pokemon, but she does own me!

Renny: Yup. On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

The two kids stepped off the plane. Toni was unusually silent, which Green found a bit worrying because whenever Toni was quiet someone was going to die horribly.

He decided to wait until they were out of New Bark Airport to ask her what was wrong. Asking her in the middle of all these people might set her off- and according to Ashley, he really didn't want to do that. And he could think of one good reason, since she could technically short-circuit every single bit of tech in the Airport.

Sparkless was in his rarely-ever used pokeball, because according to Ashley a lot of rare pokemon often got stolen from their Trainers (or in this case, Deviant partners) at airports. Though with Toni's current temperament, the would-be thief would most likely be a smouldering pile of ash before he/she even got five feet away.

They stepped into the actual town itself, where the night sky shrouded everything in darkness- or it would have, if lights hadn't been keeping the town bright and lively despite the late hour.

"Toni?" Green asked quietly. "You okay?"

" . . . Mm."

That meant 'no'.

"What is it?" Green pressed as gently as he could. Wouldn't want to provoke the beast, after all.

"Nothing." Toni muttered.

"Is it becuase you had to keep Sparkless in his ball for the entire flight?" Green asked. It would make sense, since the last time Sparkless's ball had been used was, well, when he'd been caught.

"No, not that- it's fine, leave it."

Green frowned as they walked on, trying to figure out what was wrong with her.

They'd been briefed on their mission two days ago, and Neron had written it down so Toni wouldn't forget any important details- so it couldn't be that she was forgetting something and it was annoying her to the point of her being out-of-character.

It might be because they'd been forced to leave behind their teams (minus Sparkless, for obvious reasons), but she'd understood that they needed to go incognito ("What's incog . . . whatever you said?" "It means 'undercover'." "Ooh.") as beginner Trainers- hence why they were wandering around New Bark, looking for Professor Elm's lab.

Or maybe it was the flight, because Green knew that Toni didn't really like them. Not because she didn't like flying, no, she loved flying. It was actually mostly because she refused to stop reading horror stories of things going wrong with planes and boats and everything. Toni said it was all interesting, but when she actually got on a plane or boat . . . well, let's just say it was better to keep quiet around her.

He couldn't think of anything else, so why would she be so murderously silent?

"You still wanna know what's wrong, don't you."

Green looked over at her. He hesitated for a split second, but then he nodded. Maybe she'd tell him what was wrong and he could calm her down long enough that she'd forget or the anger/whatever it was would go away.

"Do you remember what the date is today?" Toni suddenly asked.

Wait, what?

"It's the eleventh," Toni said. "Of December."

. . . Okay, so, not so suddenly then.

"Is that what it is?" Green asked. "Is it because we got an actual mission two weeks before Christmas?"

"You know damn well that I love Christmas!" Toni snapped. "And, okay, I get that there aren't any agents or operatives in Johto and they're all stretched out thin as it is . . . but still. Even Neron knows not to mess with my Christmas. And yet he still sends us on a mission."

"Well, he might have been getting desperate. And I guess technically we're the best for the job, since everyone else is either refusing or not exactly . . . uh, fit for the job." Green tried to explain. He didn't know why Neron couldn't send someone else, he was just throwing shit out there to try and calm Toni down.

"Whatever." Toni muttered.

"At least we got presents sorted out, though, right?" Green said. "And when Christmas comes, the others can send their presents through the DataLink, right?"

"I'm not that arsed about presents, to be honest," Toni said, finally calming down. "It's more like I don't wanna spend Christmas away from our friends- they're basically family."

Green nodded. He could understand that, he felt pretty much the same way. Even Kiara, who barely ever bothered to grace anyone with her presence or voice, felt a like family to him.

"But," Toni went on, a small smile making its way onto her face. "Like you said, at least we have the DataLink. We can talk to them through that!"

The DataLink was a small, almost chat-like page on their Database. It was basically how they Skyped each other on missions, and how they were able to speak with the common room when Toni, Green and Sparkless were inside of the Kanto League's own database. It also allowed them to send items, big or small, to each others' DataGears, which looked sort of like PokeGears but more high-tech.

The DataGears, like PokeGears, allowed the inhabitants of common room 15 to call each other, listen to the radio and access the map of the current region, country or town/city they were in.

Unlike the PokeGears, the DataGears allowed them all to Skype each other (the screens showing their faces were holograms rising from the screen of the Gear if they weren't inside of cyberspace), send items and pictures to each other (that one was mostly Toni's doing because she somehow figured out how to hack into the pokemon Storage system, and then she gave Ashley access), and also get onto the Database itself for information or whatever they needed.

But whatever, at least Toni was back to normal now. Or, well, as normal as she could get- she shifted moods very quickly, but her base personality pretty much made her the female version of Tony Stark sometimes.

Neron had told them, during the briefing, that Professor Elm's lab was on the far north-west side of town. But Green honestly had zero sense of direction unless Erwin was with him, and Toni was still trying to figure out how to use the geomagnetic fields to create a sort of electrical compass. So they weren't doing very well in terms of actually finding the lab.

"Maybe we can ask someone where it is." Toni suggested, after the fifth time they'd come up with a dead end.

"Good plan," Green said flatly. "Why didn't you think of it earlier?"

"I'm better at doing stuff rather than thinking about stuff." Toni shrugged. "Though sometimes it's the other way around."

"Uh-huh. Hey, mister!" Green called to a random man who looked friendly enough.

They finally got the directions they needed, and it was sometime near midnight when Toni and Green eventually got to Elm's lab.

"Would he even still be awake?" Green wondered.

"He's a scientist, right? Researches pokemon eggs or some shit." Toni shrugged. "So he's probably used to sleepless nights. Y'know, like Rowan."

"He doesn't even bother hiding his insomnia from the public." Green muttered.

"Meh." Toni knocked on the front door a couple of times.

They waited.

" . . . Or maybe he isn't sleepless." Toni admitted a couple of minutes later.

"Tell me this place has a pokemon centre or a hotel or _something_." Green sighed. "I am not sleeping on the ground."

"Uh . . . don't think so, no."

"Mew dammit."

"Are you two here for the Professor?"

Green looked back up at the door. It was open now, and there was a young woman with brown hair and some weird furry hat looking down at the two of them with a gentle smile on her face. Well, not exactly a 'weird furry hat' exactly, since Toni was still wearing her Umbreon hat . . . whatever.

"Yeah!" Toni said brightly. "Are you one of his aids?"

"Mm-hm." the woman nodded. "My name's Rooke, and . . . you two are the new Trainers, Tommy and Phoebe Menoetius, right? Strange names, but I can't complain."

"Did your parents miss out the 'b' in your name?" Green wondered.

"Were your parents related to the god of rudeness?" Rooke fired back.

" . . . Touche."

Rooke gestured for them to go inside, and closed the door after them. She led Toni and Green to a room that looked more like it should have been in a normal house and not a pokemon lab, where several pokemon were lounging around.

"Hey, Sam!" Rooke called. An Espeon glanced up from where it was snuggled into the fur of a Typhlosion. "Rookie Trainers. Can you find the starters?"

 _"Okay, Rooke!"_ the Espeon, Sam, chirped. She bounced off- almost literally- into another room.

 _"Why did you do that I was just getting warm . . ."_ the Typhlosion grumbled.

"Kindle, you're a Fire type- that's your ground state of being." Rooke told him.

Toni's eyes widened a fraction and she glanced at Green. He concentrated for a second, making sure he wasn't discovered (Espeon were powerful Psychic types, he didn't want this one finding him shifting through her Trainers mind) and focused on the part of the mind that would tell him if someone was a Deviant.

His training in that part hadn't been very . . . uh, practical, but he understood the basic terms and so it was easy enough to practise on 'willing' targets.

He found absolutely nothing.

Rooke turned around at the very second he was about to shake his head to tell Toni that she wasn't Deviant, so he had to tell her some other way.

 _Not Deviant,_ he 'pathed. Telepathy was one of the bits of being Psychic he really couldn't exactly get down properly. Somehow he just didn't seem to be able to connect with the different thought patterns that each and every human being had, and he could only just about send a small and sort of broken message through his weak telepathy.

But pokemon, on the other hand, were much easier for some reason . . . he had no idea why. Maybe because he'd been with them his whole life? Toothless and Erwin had basically raised him, so it would make sense he had a better connection to pokemon rather than people.

"So," Rooke said. "Are you two going for the League Championships?"

"What? No, we just wanna travel." Green explained. Incognito.

"Oh, casual Trainers? Normally kids like you wanna be the Champions at this age." Rooke giggled slightly. "Don't see many just wanting to travel. But I suppose the Gyms have lost their appeal, right? Any battles done there are all televised nowadays . . ."

"I recognise you from somewhere, I swear." Toni suddenly told her. "I feel like I've seen you on TV. Do you have one of those faces?"

"Well, I was once the Johto-Kanto Champion, if that helps?" Rooke suggested.

"You what."

 _"She's not kidding,"_ the Typhlosion said. _"She really was the Champ- until she gave it back to Lance, of course."_

Green was actually pretty impressed. Most people would just keep the Championship until they got beaten by another winner of the League Tournament.

"I was the Champion, but I gave it back to Lance because . . . well, I just didn't want it, if I'm honest. A twelve year old isn't really suited for being a Champion." Rooke told them.

So, wait . . . Rooke could apparently understand pokemon, but she wasn't Deviant. She'd also once been the Champion of Johto-Kanto, which meant she'd gone through the Johto Gyms instead of the Kanto ones (depending on which region you went through, it was Kanto-Johto or Johto-Kanto), and she'd given up the Championship because she'd known she wasn't suited for it.

Green . . . had no idea what to make of her. But at least she wasn't a dick about it.

"Anyway, this isn't about me- this is about you two." Rooke clapped her hands. "Sam'll be back here with the starters any minute now, so why don't you just wait in here for a while? I need to go and find Pan anyway."

May as well.

" . . . So she isn't Deviant." Toni muttered when she was gone. They sat down apart from the group of pokemon, but they were close enough that it wouldn't look suspicious.

"No." Green said. "But she could actually understand her pokemon . . ."

"Maybe it's just that connection thing that some weirdos go on about," Toni hummed. "With her starter, that is."

There was, after all, no evidence that Rooke could understand any of her other pokemon. So maybe it was just that.

Green suddenly heard sniffing, and he glanced at Toni- and then the three little Eevees that were sniffing at her curiously. A Flareon watched them from a few feet away, with a Leafeon settled next to it- probably the parents. And then a second Flareon wandered in with a Vaporeon riding on its back, and sat down next to them. Or the second Flareon sat down and carefully slid the Vaporeon off its back, until the Vaporeon was sort of half-lying on the floor next to it, and then sat down itself.

 _"People!"_ one of the Eevees, the smallest and darkest one the three, cried. _"Daddy!"_ he turned to the Flareon sitting next to the Vaporeon. _"People!"_

 _"Yes, I know."_ the Flareon smiled.

The little Eevee turned back to Toni. _"Hi person, I'm Charlie!"_

 _"They can't understand you, Charlie."_ the Vaporeon chuckled. She twisted and used her teeth to gently pull her legs into a better position.

 _"Aww."_

 _"Taylor,"_ Kindle called. _"You may want to get your kid away from the other kid."_

 _"And wasn't that confusing to say."_ a Ninetales smirked.

 _"It actually wasn't."_

 _"What do the people look like?"_ one of the other little Eevees asked quietly. His eyes were a strange milky colour, and it took Green a couple of seconds to figure out why.

 _"Like people, duh."_ Charlie said.

The third Eevee made some weird gestures with his tail.

 _"No, they're not here for that- they want starters!"_ Charlie giggled. _"That means Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile, not us, Sven!"_

 _"Marco, come over here for a moment, Myria has something to tell you."_ the Flareon settled next to the Leafeon called.

The blind Eevee- Marco- pricked his ears and carefully picked his way across the room to what Green assumed was his father. So both the Flareons were male, and that meant the Vaporeon and the Leafeon were female, so in other words they were the mothers.

The Leafeon leaned down once Marco was nearby and whispered something in his ears, and then the blind Eevee was wagging his tail until it thumped off the ground like a metronome or something.

"This is one strange bunch of pokemon." Toni muttered.

"No kidding, even Zo's team isn't this weird." Green said.

 _"Rooke, I found the starters- oh, she's not here anymore."_ the Espeon, Sam, said. Three pokeballs were floating around her in a soft pink aura, orbiting her like planets.

 _"Should we give them to the kids or what?"_ Kindle asked.

A Raticate wearing a Shell Bell walked in after Sam and glanced at Toni and Green sitting near the corner, with two of the three Eevee kids still watching them curiously.

 _"Technically speaking, I'm qualified to give out starters to new Trainers."_ he said, gesturing with his tail to the floating pokeballs. _"The Professor's talked me through the usual routine and paperwork for it, so I should be able to fufil both his and Rooke's job."_

 _"So that's a yeah."_ the Ninetales summarised.

 _"Essentially, yes."_

Well, they were gonna be given their 'starter' pokemon by a pokemon.

It wasn't really unheard of, though- pokemon were sentient beings, and as such they could, strictly speaking, learn the same stuff as humans did and get the same jobs. And judging by what the Raticate was saying, he'd taken a job as Professor Elm's research assistant or something. Rooke was obviously an aid.

Huh. He was learning way more about the world by actually seeing it in action rather than just by reading about it. Or, you know, experiancing it and then learning about it. Whichever.

The Raticate picked up a pen and paper from a nearby table and walked over to Toni and Green. He was fairly big for a Raticate, and his Shell Bell made him look like he was wearing something a bit like half a suit. Cool.

The Raticate wrote down something on the pad and then showed it to Toni and Green.

 _Good evening, my name is Donovan, and I am Professor Elm's personal assistant,_ the pad read.

Okay, time for pretending that you can't understand every single word these pokemon could speak.

"Hi, Don." Green greeted him. Donovan smiled at him.

 _Professor Elm is not present at the moment, and my Trainer Rooke is not available either- so it falls to me to give you your starter pokemon, unless she returns. Do you mind?_ Don wrote.

"No, not really. We just want our pokemon." Toni shrugged. "And if they're given by a pokemon, that just makes this more memore . . . memorable, right?"

Donovan nodded.

 _"Sam, come over here!"_ he called to the Espeon.

Sam bounced over and grinned at them happily, and then, at Donovan's instructions, she set down the three pokeballs gently.

Donovan pointed his tail to the pokeball to the left. _This is Cyndaquil's pokeball,_ he wrote. He pointed his tail to the middle one. _This is Chikorita's._ Donovan pointed at the right-hand pokeball. _And this is Totodile's._

"So we just choose one each and then we're done?" Green asked. He already knew there was a bit of paperwork to do, mostly concerning stuff like Trainer cards, the pokedexes (like they needed one), ages and names and stuff like that. But they didn't know that.

 _No, you both have a little bit of paperwork to do- but don't worry, it isn't that much. Just choose a starter and you can do the paperwork, and by morning we'll have your Trainer cards and pokedexes sorted out,_ Donovan wrote.

"Why do we need to wait until morning?" Toni frowned. "I wanna go now!"

Impatient as freaking ever.

Donovan smiled at her and chuckled. _It's nearly past midnight. I know you kids have fuel to burn like nothing, but we scientists do enjoy sleep once in a while. Wait until morning, alright?_

"Oh fine."

 _Now, choose your first pokemon._

Not his first pokemon, but maybe this pokemon would be his first _official_ pokemon- since, technically, Toothless, Erwin and Tiago were basically illegal captures.

But anyway.

He was used to Flying types, since all of his were half-Flying. He was also used to the Fire type starters, but he knew that the final evolution of Cyndaquil, Typholosion, wasn't a Flying type (as if the Typholosion in the room wasn't anything to go by) so . . . he wouldn't know what to do with a Cyndaquil exactly. But he was used to Fire types, so it would make more sense to choose Cyndaquil.

However . . .

Green also wanted to try training a new type. He'd never had a Water or Grass type before. He'd let Toni choose first, because of that rule or whatever that said 'women first' or something. She was sort of a feminist, so Toni occasionally abused that rule . . . for some reason.

"You can go first, I don't mind." Green offered.

"I was gonna go first anyway." Toni shrugged. "Ladies first and all that shhhstuff."

See?

She leaned forward and studied the pokeballs for a while.

"And I'm picking-" Toni reached forward and grabbed the pokeball that housed the Chikorita. "-this one!"

Green had already decided to not have the Fire type, so that left him with the Totodile. Fine by him, it'd be fun to train a Water type.

 _Good choice, Phoebe,_ Don wrote. _What about you, Tommy?_

"This one." Green said, picking up the Totodile's ball.

A few minutes later, Sam came in with the paperwork- which even Green was sort of dreading, because he honestly hated it. Toni was worse. If she was given a computer or laptop to work on, she'd be perfectly fine, but give her paper that had to be used for something that wasn't drawing and she was slow as hell and got distracted a lot.

 _Trainer name: Tommy Menoetius_

 _Age: 12 years_

 _Date of Birth: 31st October_ (because they couldn't exactly pose as twins with different birthdays, could they?)

 _Height: 140 cm, 4'6 foot_

 _Hair colour: brown_

 _Eye colour: green_

 _Date of Trainer car/pokedex/starter recieved: 11th December_

 _Starter: Totodile_

 _Previous Trainer qualifications: none_ (as in, had they been a Trainer before- but, incognito, so 'no' he hadn't been one before)

 _Pokedex regional model: Johto V5_

 _Trainer ID: 13594_

There was some other stuff, but that was basically the most important crap. He already knew what Toni's would write down-

 _Trainer name: Phoebe Menoetius_

 _Age: 12 years_

 _Date of Birth: 31st October_

 _Height: 140 cm, 4'6 foot_

 _Hair colour: red_

 _Eye colour: blue_

 _Date of Trainer car/pokedex/starter recieved: 11th December_

 _Starter: Chikorita_

 _Previous Trainer qualifications: none_

 _Pokedex regional model: Johto V5_

 _Trainer ID: 13694_

Don took away the paperwork when they were done, and Toni groaned happily and stretched out her hands like she'd been holding cement blocks on them for the past five hours or something. It had only taken them fifteen minutes to fill out the forms.

She needed to stop being so dramatic all the damn time.

 _"Looks like everything's in order."_ Don muttered, scanning the paperwork. _"They've been given starters, they've done the paperwork properly . . . All that's left is to get the Trainer cards and the pokedexes."_

 _"Those'll be done in the morning, I assume?"_ Kindle flatly asked. _"Because I do not want that machine whirring all through my sleep."_

 _"All you_ ever _do is sleep, Dad!"_ Taylor, one of the father Flareons, teased.

 _"Watch it boy- you may have Flash Fire but I can still hurt you with other attacks!"_

 _"Yes, they'll be done in the morning, don't worry."_ Don chuckled.

 **oooo**

The next morning, Green woke up in an unfamiliar bed. At first he was confused as to why he wasn't in his bed and why Toothless wasn't trying to flatten him as per usual, and then he thought he'd been kidnapped.

And then Toni jumped on him from the other side of the room and Thundershock'd him.

"AAAARGHGETOFF!" he yelled, shoving her off the bed with a Psywave.

"Took you long enough!" Toni exclaimed, not even bothered at all. "How long do you sleep without Toothless Body Slamming you, seriously?"

"You're the one who normally sleeps past ten!" Green snapped. He glanced at the clock. "It's . . . eight. How are you even functioning at this point?"

"Pan- you know, Rooke's Quagsire?- Pan woke me up and told me to wake _you_ up." Toni explained, as Green finally got out of the bed. "Rooke's making breakfast."

"I didn't know you understood pokemon sign language." Green commented. Pan was apparently mute, much like the little Eevee they'd met last night- what was his name again, Sven? Yeah, that. So they both used sign language to speak.

Which, being an Eevee, was a little bit hard for Sven to do. But he managed with his tail apparently.

"I don't, he wrote it down for me."

That explained everything.

Professor Elm had apparently come back during the night, when he and Toni had been asleep. He was sitting at the lab's kitchen table, reading some report that Green didn't bother giving a second glance. One was all he needed, after all.

"Oh, so _you're_ the new Trainers!" Elm exclaimed, upon their arrival.

"Yeah- hi there." Green replied.

"Morning." Toni grinned.

"Well, it's good to finally meet you . . . I'm so sorry about not being here last night, the local Daycare apparently found some eggs from two of their Togekiss." Elm chuckled. He gestured to the rucksack on the seat next to him, which was lumpy with what Green assumed were said eggs. "They wanted me to take a few, because apparently ten eggs was too many even for them."

. . . _Ten_? What the hell kind of Togekiss did that Daycare _have_?

"He's brought back seven, as overexcited as usual . . ." Rooke giggled, flipping a pancake. "Professor, you really need to stop bringing back so many eggs. We've got two rooms full already."

"Yes well, I do at least give some eggs away to starting Trainers!" Elm laughed. "But I have to admit I may go a little bit overboard . . ."

 _"A bit? Understatement of the entire millennia."_ Kindle grumbled from the corner.

 _"Kindle, be nice."_ Sam scolded him. _"Set an example for our children's children."_

The three Eevees in question were currently using Rooke as a climbing post, which Green could say that he had never seen before.

This place was weird, even compared to the city.

 _"Sven, get down from there- Marco, I thought you knew better!"_ one of the Flareons from last night, Taylor probably, was snapping. _"Charlie, you should be setting a better example for your cousins!"_

 _"But Daaaaad!"_ Charlie whined.

"I don't mind Taylor, really. This doesn't even hurt." Rooke chuckled.

 _" . . . I don't think them taking after me is the worst thing that could happen."_ Kindle said after a few seconds.

"I HAVE THE PERFECT IDEA!" Elm suddenly shouted.

Everyone, even the climbing Eevees, paused and stared at him.

" . . . Um, we'd like an explanation, please?" Rooke asked hesitantly.

"Sorry." Elm blushed slightly. "I mean . . . I have an idea."

 _"Yes, you said that already."_ Kindle told him. Sam hit him with her tail.

Elm turned to Green and Toni.

"We have seven Togepi eggs right here, and since I normally give starting Trainers eggs anyway, hows about the two of you take one?" he suggested, with a huge and happy grin.

Green started counting.

Toni burst out laughing and had to grip the back of a nearby chair to stay upright. It didn't do much good, but it did keep her sort of propped up when she sank to the floor in tears of joy.

 _Huh, five seconds. New record,_ he mused.

" . . . I've never seen that reaction before." Rooke commented. Poor Elm looked a little bit put-out.

"Sorry, she's a functioning moron- ignore her." Green told them. "Take it as a 'no' from her. But you can give one to me if you want to, I don't really mind."

And he certainly didn't. He had, with some help from Toothless and Erwin, raised Tiago from an egg actually. He'd been a brat of a Pidgey chick, and still was even though he was fully grown and fully evolved, and it had been sort of difficult- but Green had actually enjoyed looking after an egg and the pokemon inside.

So he was pretty fine with getting another chance to do so. It'd be fun, and besides, you didn't see many of the Toge family in England, nevermind the city. He'd certainly never seen a real life one, anyway.

"Well, that's one down- what're we going to do with the other six?" Rooke asked, raising an eyebrow at Professor Elm.

"I'm keeping at least two." he told her firmly.

"If you had your way you'd keep all of them." Rooke muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, sir!" the woman said. Her grin sort of gave her away though.

 **oooo**

"Alright, if you need anything at all- and I do mean anything- just call on this number and one of us'll pick up." Rooke said, handing Green a video-phone number on a small slip of paper.

He pocketed it and grinned at her. "Thanks."

"May I ask where you're going to carry your things?" Elm asked, frowning at the two of them. "Are you going to buy bags from the shops?"

"Nah, we can make do." Toni shrugged. "We're cool with it."

Green shifted the egg he was holding with one arm and nodded.

"If you insist . . ." Elm muttered. "Bye, kids."

He went back inside the lab, leaving Rooke standing with Green and Toni outside.

"You're sure you're not gonna go for the League?" Rooke frowned.

"We're sure, really." Toni assured. "You might be used to the usual bunch of twats-"

"Phoebe." Green said.

"-shut up- you might be used to the usual twa- fine, twits- who wanna be the very best, like no one ever was-"

Green choked.

"-but we're too awesome for that." Toni eventually finished.

"Yeah, I can't tell her off for that." Green shrugged.

"You two are an unusual pair, I can give you that." Rooke shook her head. "Well, see you soon. I'll be in Goldenrod in a month or so, maybe we'll see each other then."

Green somewhat doubted that. It would probably take half a year just to get to Azalea with Toni's navigational skills and his lack of combined.

"Sure." he said instead. "See you!"

And they left.

He and Toni agreed to get to Route 29 before they would actually meet their pokemon. And also before Toni could let out Sparkless, who, by now, was probably trying to burn the inside of his pokeball.

"Okay, we shouldn't be overheard here." Green said, doing a quick mental sweep of the surroundings for a couple of miles in every direction.

He nodded to Toni, who let out Sparkless.

 _"FINALLY DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I'VE BEEN WAITING NO WELL I'LL TELL YOU HOW LONG I'VE BEEN WAITING LIKE FOREVER THAT'S HOW LONG I'VE BEEN WAITING hi guys are we on the mission yet?"_ he asked.

"Yep!" Toni grinned.

It amazed Green how she could tell what he'd said without having to think about it.

"Alright, let's let out our 'starters'." Green broke in before Sparkless could ask any more questions.

He and Toni opened up the two balls they'd been given. Once the pokemon inside were out, Green gently put the egg onto the grass and sat down next to it, facing the Totodile and Chikorita. Toni followed, and Sparkless just zipped around randomly.

 _"I was hoping for an experienced Trainer."_ the Totodile muttered.

"How do you know I'm not?" Green demanded, already taking a disliking to this pokemon.

He was a damn starter, what did he expect? It wasn't like veteran Trainers decided to do a restart on a regular basis.

 _"You're a Mew damned kid, of course you're not an experienced Trainer."_ Totodile snapped.

"Wow, we get an ass right off the bat." Toni murmured to Green, who sighed.

 _"I don't mind getting a newbie."_ Chikorita shrugged. _"We're not exactly the most powerful of creatures at this moment, so- . . . Wait."_

Totodile realised what had just happened too.

 _"Did you just answer me?"_ he demanded. _"Correctly?"_

"Yes." Green told him.

 _"H-how?"_ Chikorita squeaked. _"Unless you're both psychics?"_

"Well, he's half Psychic." Toni leaned back on her hands. "Yo there, name's Toni and this is Green. We're what's known as Deviants."

 _"Deviants."_ Totodile repeated.

"Yup. Deviants are basically human pokemon, humans with pokemon types and powers." Green explained. "I'm a Ghost/Psychic type, and Toni's a Ghost/Electric type. Her partner pokemon is Sparkless. I don't have a partner."

"Yet." Toni said.

"Whatever. Anyway, we're from England- well, Toni is, I just live there- and we live in a giant underground facility that everyone calls the city." Green explained. They couldn't tell the people they met this stuff, but pokemon were fine- they could keep secrets. "Toni and I have been sent by the Director on a mission, and we're going incognito as newbie Trainers. Newsflash, we're not actually newbies."

 _"I'm assuming you're both illegal Trainers."_ Totodile said. He didn't seem like he believed them about the Deviant thing, but otherwise . . .

Well, not even pokemon would believe someone if they said they lived in an expy of Zion.

"Yeah, basically. Half the shit we do is illegal anyway, so it's not the worst thing." Toni shrugged.

 _"Not the worst? What could be worse than being illegal Trainers?"_ Chikorita yelped.

"Well, we've hacked the government more times than I can remember." Green told him. "Even set up a hack-proof website that only me, Toni and our friends can use with all kinds of info on it."

Totodile and Chikorita gaped at the two of them.

 _"See it's not the worst thing they've done I'm an illegal capture but they hacked the Kanto League a few days ago so hah!"_ Sparkless cheered.

"You helped!" Toni snapped.

"Anyway, we were briefed on this mission and- even if we still don't know why we were chosen- we accepted." Green went on.

 _"And this mission is? I assume it's illegal too?"_ Totodile frowned, crossing his arms.

"Well, yes." Green answered. "Sort of, anyway. I think. We're not entirely sure how legal it is actually. Primarily, Neron's told us that we're going to be searching for Deviants in Johto. There aren't many, but Psychics have picked up a few traces and we've got a list of towns and cities that they're in."

 _"What about secondarily?"_ Chikorita asked.

" . . . Johto isn't exactly the safest place on the planet." Green began. "Neron's heard whispers of unrest in the system, specifically the League. These whispers have apparently hinted that there's a traitor among them- a joint leader of some organisation no one knows the name of. They dress like knights and shit, but that's all he knows."

 _"And lemme guess, this Neron guy sends two twelve year olds with superpowers to go undercover, find Deviants and casually stop a possible nation-wide threat along the way?"_ Totodile deadpanned.

"Correction, he wants us to stop a nuclear war, but that's about it yeah." Toni agreed.

Chikorita jerked back and gaped at them in shock. Totodile just stared.

"Whispers have also said that this traitor has been stealing nuclear weapons." Green said. "Toni can basically hack into any system she wants to because she can literally go _inside_ of the system, and I can read anyone's mind and know their life-story in a matter of seconds. As well as recruiting more Deviants, we're also going to try and find the traitor and stop the organisation before everything goes to hell."

"Defcon 1, in other words." Toni broke in. "Ain't we at like, defcon 4 or something right now?"

"I thought it was defcon 3?" Green frowned.

"No, I'm pretty sure it was 4."

"Neron said it was 3, I know he did."

"He said 4, dammit."

"You're being optimistic."

"Realistic, there's a difference."

Green's eyes flashed purple briefly, startling the two starters in front of them.

 _"Is he possessed?"_ Totodile wondered.

"No, I am not. And yeah, he did say defcon 4- but then he said we were nearing 3." Green said.

"We need to stop watching _War Games_." Toni laughed.

"Yes, yes we do."

At least it helped them understand the concept of the defcon levels. And gave Toni more references to use. 'Shall we play a game?' was one of her favourite things to quote.

Green stood up, picking up his egg at the same time. Totodile frowned and opened his jaws to say something, but then was struck speechless again when the egg suddenly vanished into thin air.

"Hammer space." Green explained. "My own personal pocket dimension, essentially."

"He made it himself. He's very proud." Toni stage-whispered.

Green shoved her.

"I'm only proud because it took me a month to figure it out, and it normally takes other Psychics about two years." Green told her. "I can put stuff there and take stuff back out. It's basically the only reason me and Toni don't need bags."

 _"He's so proud it hurts to listen to him he's fucking bragging I can SEE IT."_ Sparkless shouted.

"It's an Arceus-damned fact, I don't see how it's bragging if it's a fact!" Green cried.

 _"You're on a technically-illegal mission to stop nuclear war and find other people like you, and you're acting like children."_ Totodile said. _"You two aren't professional at all, are you?"_

"What was your first clue?" Toni asked.

 _"Is it safe for the egg to be in that 'hammer space' of yours?"_ Chikorita asked. He looked concerned. _"I mean . . . aren't you meant to keep it with you?"_

"I guess so, but the egg's fine." Green shrugged. "There's a warm fire in there, and I made up a little nest of blankets for the egg. And there's an imaginary Kangaskhan too. I'll take it out when we're not constantly on the move- it's not like we have a case for it, and I can't make random things out of thin air when it isn't hammer space."

 _"Are we treating a pocket dimension as your imaginary playground or what?"_ Totodile demanded.

"I made it from my imagination, so basically, yes." Green nodded. "By the way, we should probably name you two . . ."

"I'm sticking with my theme!" Toni held up a hand like she was in school or something. "But . . . I can't think of anything."

"Well if you're gonna add 'less' onto the end of every single name you have and you can't think of anything for him," Green said, nodding to Chikorita. "How about Nameless?"

"YOU ARE A MOTHERFUCKING GENIUS." Toni screamed, shaking Green by the shoulders.

"Jirachi Christ, my ears!" Green yelped.

 _"I cannot believe these two."_ Totodile said blankly.

 _"I quite like them."_ the newly named Nameless replied.

"Okay, your turn!" Toni cried. "You gonna keep the movie/TV series theme or what?"

 _"What?"_ the two starters asked.

"I name my pokemon after characters from TV shows or movies, or book series or mangas . . . you get the point." Green explained. "I have a Charizard named Toothless, a Scyther called Erwin, and a Pidgeot called Tiago."

 _" . . . I don't get it."_ Totodile admitted.

"Well, looks like we're gonna have a movie marathon and shit at some point. You need to be educated." Toni said. "Especially if you're gonna get half the references I make."

"Anyway, I was thinking Ice." Green broke in before she could make a giant speech about the importance of movie references. "He's a character in a TV series called _Pokemon Underground_ , and he's kind of an ass."

 _"Oh, I see where this is going."_ Totodile said.

"Good, because I wasn't gonna tell you. Anyway, Ice is actually a Dewgong, but your personality kinda reminds me of him- plus you can learn Ice Fang, so it makes sense." Green went on.

 _"Is this 'Ice' character a bad guy?"_ Totodile asked.

"Nah, he's one of the main characters- y'know, a jerk with a heart of gold sort of deal." Green told him.

 _"Fine, I'll let it slide."_ Totodile- or Ice- nodded slightly.

Well, Green wasn't sure if Ice or Nameless actually believed them about the Deviant thing, or their mission (presumably they would assume the two of them were nutters or something), but at least they weren't going to refuse to listen to Green and Toni.

He could feel it in their minds- they were skeptical, but they weren't going to disobey or anything. Pokemon were nothing if not loyal, although in some cases that wasn't exactly a good thing.

But in this case it was.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: In case anyone's wondering, _Pokemon Underground_ doesn't exist. I just couldn't exactly think of a character called Ice, so I made up a TV series for this world specifically. It's basically like PMD, but way different.

Green: And you realise it's been months since you've updated this thing?

Renny: I lost interest for ages, sue me. Distracted by _Attack on Titan_ , _Power of Five_ , ect.

Green: Uh-huh.

Renny: Yeah anyway. Rooke isn't actually my own character, I more or less told the actual owner that her character would get a cameo in a comic that basically went bust three or four pages in, so I've decided to add her into this because, well, I need to have plot devices. And if anyone can guess the roles of the three Eevee kits, kudos to you!

Green: You just gave it away to anyone reading this.

Renny: Well no one reads this anyway, so they won't see how sorry I am that I left this for months. Anyway, read and review!


	3. Chapter 3- Additional

Renny: Hopefully when I finish this it won't be three months later. Because I'm most likely gonna die in three months.

Green: Suicide?

Renny: No, death by waiting on the fucking dub of _Attack on Titan_. I DO NOT WANT SPOILERS BUT ALREADY I'M SEEING SCREENSHOTS. Ugh.

Green: . . . Why do I know you?

Renny: Because I'm in this fandom. Oh yeah, apprently there was a massive war on Tumblr/Twitter/whatever site it was, between the idiots known as Beliebers (god what a dumb name) and basically every single fandom on the planet. Because Jared Padalecki fucking slammed the Justin kid epically. AND I MISSED IT. Dammit I miss all the good stuff.

Green: Uuuh how much use would you be in a war of fandoms anyway?

Renny: Well actually it was a war between every fandom- originally just _SPN_ but then the others came to their aid- and the Beliebers. I found out that World War Three happened and I wasn't fucking there. Dammit.

Green: *checks* Actually I think it's still going on right now.

Renny: WHAT I WANT IN LIKE RIGHT NOW.

Green: It's on Tumblr.

Renny: I don't have that. Fuck. Oh well, I can just observe and cheer for the fandoms and tell any Beliebers I know about the war so they can fear me. Disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

The forest of Route 29 was peaceful. Pokemon were calm, cool and collected- yet that didn't stop the Sentret clans from being watchful to the point of obsession.

Some of the pokemon supposed it was a good thing, because that meant they had warning when disturbances decided to make themselves known. Mostly in the worst possible way.

Unfurtunately, no one had any warning this time.

The peaceful atmosphere was suddenly broken by a flash of brown. The flash was so fast that none of the pokemon who had been near knew what it had been.

And then several more flashes- some of them dark brown- zoomed past.

The resident pokemon of Route 29 knew what was going on now. They knew to keep well away from the flashes.

Twintera Gracious Heradon- heir to the Queenship of one of the most militarised flocks the living world has ever known- was in big trouble.

She flew as fast as she could (which was pretty damn fast) and the trees, even as she swerved to avoid them, seemed to move out of her way. The pokemon in pursuit of her- five Pidgeys and four Spearows- were less maneuverable than her, and several of them almost hit branches that appeared out of almost nowhere.

Twintera gritted her beak and pulled up sharply, so sharp that most bird pokemon would be wondering how she managed it without breaking her back or the sound barrier.

She wasn't fast enough to break the sound barrier. Yet. Perhaps when she was older, or when she'd evolved. But not right now.

The pokemon following her had to stop and then follow her flight path, losing what could be precious time in their pursuit of her.

Twintera came out into open air, moving away from the trees. It meant she lost her cover, but it also meant that she could go as fast as she wanted without having to slow down in the slightest to avoid trees and branches and other things that got in her way.

However, that was also true for the nine birds pursuing her.

She shot off Southwards, and chanced a look over her shoulder- yes, they were there. And gaining on her. Damn.

Twintera sped up as much as she could, going a speed that most would have thought of impossible for a Pidgey of all creatures. But she'd been trained for this kind of stuff, so Twintera knew her limits and she knew she could break them all.

But again, the pursuers had the exact same training.

 _"Twintera, make this easier on yourself!"_ she heard one of the Spearows shout.

How, she didn't know, normally the wind would take away any sound and lose it somewhere behind them, making the words impossible to make out. But the Spearow line were particularly notorious for being able to shape the wind to their will, so that meant they could speak as softly as they wanted and still make themselves heard in open air like this.

 _"Give yourself in!"_ another Spearow called.

Twintera had once considered her a friend, the Spearow who had just spoken. They were the heirs to the Queenship of the two military bird flocks, and as such had been put together since hatching so they would be able to work closely together when running their respective flocks.

That wasn't possible anymore, as it was painfully obvious.

Not when the Spearow flock were after her for murder, anyway.

 _But I did not do it!_ she had protested. However, she'd known it had been pointless even as she opened her beak and screamed out her innocence. The Spearow flock were well-known for being the sort of pokemon to 'attack first and ask later', preferably 'attack first and don't bother asking at all'.

Twintera twisted in mid-air, surprising the pokemon following her, and shot through them. They were so surprised they couldn't do anything but move out of the way to avoid getting nicked by her razor-sharp wings.

The young but not inexperienced Pidgey pulled down again, this time doing a gentle curve. It would throw her pursuers off, because they were used to her normally-sharp angles and turns. It meant they couldn't find her as fast because, for all they knew, Twintera could have zipped off three miles in any direction by the time they figured out where the curve in her flight path stopped.

 **oooo**

" . . . Hopeless." Toni said. "Suits you perfectly, I think."

The Sentret sitting on the low-hanging branch tilted her head. _"I feel like I should be worried that I've got a name like that."_ she said.

"Don't be, she's just saying random shit." Green reasurred her.

"Yeah and besides, with a name like Hopeless, your enemies're gonna underestimate you and assume you suck ass. And then be totally shocked when you _kick_ ass." Toni said wisely.

Well. Sort of. Her logic made sense, but she was still a weirdo (Green was such a hypocrite sometimes).

Hopeless shrugged and jumped onto Toni, almost covering her entire head like that weird furry hat thing that Rooke had worn.

 _"And I thought your naming theme was weird,"_ Ice sighed. _"But now we've got a kid who calls her pokemon 'Nameless' and 'Hopeless'. Oh and let's not forget 'Sparkless' for a pseudo-Legendary Ghost/_ Electric _type pokemon."_

 _"I like my name really I do besides she's got a Beedrill called Needleless back home so I'm not the weirdest I promise!"_ Sparkless cried, zipping around.

Was that Rotom permanently on a sugar-rush or something?

Ice just stared at Sparkless.

 _"I mean I don't have the weirdest name what did you think I meant oh you thought I meant I'm not the weirdest pokemon yeah I'm not denying that at all so whatever right?"_ Sparkless stated.

Sugar-rush. No wonder Toni was a total nutter.

And then something smashed into a tree.

Green yelped and fell backwards, too surprised to do anything else, and Ice snapped his head around to stare at the now-broken tree. Toni's newest pokemon jumped backwards and landed in a heap together and Sparkless just froze in mid-air.

"MOTHERFUCKER." Toni shouted, flailing around wildly.

Nutter.

"What in the Sam hell was that?" Green demanded, sitting up but not actually _standing_ up.

 _"A pokemon breaking the speed limit."_ Ice deadpanned. Green gave him a flat look.

The tree had basically been torn in half from the force of whatever had hit it. Something groaned, and a small- well, kind of small- shape climbed awkwardly out of and on top of the wreckage of the tree.

 _"A_ Pidgey _breaking the speed limit."_ Ice corrected himself.

"Why did I get the one pokemon whose sarcasm is greater than my own . . ." Green muttered.

 _"What is this?"_ the Pidgey snapped. She seemed remarkably fine for a bird who'd just slammed into a tree and snapped it in half.

"Training session?" Toni shrugged. "I dunno. What are we doing, guys?"

 _"Naming me."_ Hopeless raised a paw helpfully.

Toni pointed at her and grinned. "She knows what we're doing and she's been here for three seconds." she said.

"Four minutes and fifteen seconds, actually." Green told her. Toni rolled her eyes.

 _" . . . You are Tamers?"_ the Pidgey asked, frowning at them. She looked at the pokemon, who all outnumbered the humans. _"And you are fine with this . . . humiliation?"_

 _"Eh."_ Ice said.

"Oh, cheers." Green replied.

The Pidgey watched them for a few seconds, one eye half-narrowed suspiciously, and then suddenly snapped to attention. She looked up at the sky with something akin to horror, or maybe it was anger. Green wasn't gonna intrude in the mind of every single living creature he met.

 _"What's wrong?"_ Nameless asked her.

 _"You do not hear that?"_ the Pidgey asked quietly, still looking up.

 _"Listen, birdy, we don't have super-hearing."_ Ice snarked.

"Seriously, why me?" Green wondered again.

"You just have horrific luck." Toni reasurred him. Sort of.

 _"Be silent or I will Pluck your eyes out."_ the Pidgey told them.

Well okay then.

 _"Still not hearing anything."_ Ice said, after several seconds.

 _"They have passed over."_ the Pidgey reported. _"You did not hear them because they were shaping the wind to mask the sound- however, I am able to accurately hear and feel when this happens. So I heard them."_

 _"That makes sense,"_ Hopeless said, nodding slightly. _"You birds are kinda famous for that. Say, I kinda have to say . . . you look mighty familiar."_

The Pidgey's eyes snapped towards the Sentret so quick Green was sure she had whiplash.

 _"I am certain you have me mistaken for some other Pidgey. We do, after all, share many of the same features."_ she told Hopeless.

 _"Maybe it'd help if you gave us your name?"_ Nameless suggested.

The Pidgey turned her gaze to him. The Grass type shrank away under the hard look.

 _"Nevermind."_ he squeaked.

"Hey, why don't you try reading her mind?" Toni spoke up, glancing at Green.

"Because I'm not you and I have respect for other living beings." Green fired back.

"Are you insulting me?"

"This girl's a certified genius."

"I'll burn you."

"I'll turn your brain into mush."

 _"Children, please, not now."_ Ice called, waving his claws in their general direction.

The Pidgey looked at them for a few seconds, and then her eyes widened. She opened her beak.

"Yes, we can understand every word you've said." Green interrupted before she could say anything.

"Deviants." Toni said, like that explained everything.

 _" . . . I do not understand."_ the Pidgey admitted.

 _"Apparently a Deviant is like a human pokemon."_ Ice told her. _"I, of course, call their Tauros-shit because we have no evidence."_

"Explain how we can understand you!" Toni snapped.

 _"Weak psychic skills? You've lived with pokemon your entire lives? There's all kinds of explanations."_ the Totodile shrugged.

"Were you Scully in a past life or something?" Green demanded.

 _"You wish to know my name, yes?"_ the Pidgey suddenly asked, loudly. Probably a good thing, otherwise they would have started up again.

Everyone looked at her.

 _"That might be helpful yeah also why do you keep looking at the sky like it's got all the answers are you trying to find that broadband thing cus I can assure you it's just an advert really."_ Sparkless told her.

And now it was the Pidgey's turn to stare.

"Yes, he's always like that." Green said.

 _"Moving on . . . You may call me . . . Twin."_ the Pidgey told them.

 _"That sounds like it's a short version of- okay nevermind."_ Hopeless giggled nervously when Twin glared at her.

Shortened version of what, exactly? If Hopeless thought Twin was apparently familiar, maybe she knew the name it was short for.

But that begged the question- why was this Pidgey hiding her real identity? It was true that Pidgeys did share some similar features, but it was also true that not every single pokemon was the same. They had their differences in appearances as well as personality, just like people did.

He needed to stop watching _NCIS_.

 _"Would becoming a tamed pokemon grant me immunity?"_ Twin suddenly asked.

The amount of times Green backtracked himself was too damn high.

 _"You mean caught? Getting caught by a Trainer?"_ Ice frowned at her.

 _"If that is what it is referred to, yes."_

 _"Then no, if whoever's after you is just about as civilised as you are."_ he said.

Twin's eyes narrowed.

"Why do you want immunity?" Green asked her.

 _"I wish not to divulge that information, if you do not mind."_ the Pidgey told him.

"We mind." Toni replied happily. "By the way, what's immunity?"

 _"Basically put, laws don't apply to you."_ Ice clarified.

"So, what, you killed someone or something?" Toni looked at Twin, whose body went slightly rigid.

 _"No, I did not kill anyone."_ she snapped. _"You."_ Twin pointed a wing at Green. _"Catch me."_

 _Wow, demanding,_ Green thought.

It was pretty clear to him that whoever was after this pokemon would probably come back. Given how far Twin was willing to go to hide from them (pretty obvious since she clearly didn't like the idea of being 'tamed') that much was obvious.

But . . . at the same time, Green couldn't exactly complain. It wasn't like the things he and Toni (and let's not mention their friends back in the city) did were completely legal. If the Pidgey had done something illegal in the eyes of whatever wild flock she'd come from, she wouldn't exactly be out of place in this group.

"Why me specifically?" Green asked her. Just to be sure.

 _"Those three are on her team, correct?"_ Twin gestured to Toni and her team. _"They are closer to her than they are you. I assume the Totodile is on yours."_

Wow, she had good observation skills. Was she like Sherlock or something?

"Yeah, though it's more like he just follows me 'cus he has to." Green told her. "So, you wanna come with me cus Toni has more pokemon?"

 _"I would have assumed you would want to have more than just a single pokemon on your team."_ Twin said flippantly. _"Of course, I may be wrong . . ."_

"No, no, I wasn't saying 'no' or anything, I just wanted to know why." Green quickly amended, waving his hands slightly.

 _"Then I am on your team."_

Okay, so maybe Sparkless's capture wasn't the weirdest on the entire planet. But at least this one didn't involve blowing up half a mile of abandoned buildings.

 **oooo**

Over six thousand miles away, in the city of Nice, France, a heated pokemon Contest was under way.

It was the final round, and it was pretty much a curb-stomp battle. In both terms of pure power and the Contest category- Toughness.

On one side was a man in his late thirties, what some would call a veteran Coordinator. His Hariyama was his life-long partner, one of the most powerful Contest pokemon in Europe, perhaps even the entire world if he decided to go national. They were hard to beat, and such a team of Trainer and pokemon required great trust and strength of will- not to mention pure power.

And yet the veteran's match had finally been found.

The young woman on the opposite side of the Contest hall field- about eighteen or nineteen if one were to guess- was finding the battle to be laughably easy. She'd heard about this man's reputation, but so far he wasn't living up to it.

The young woman had midnight blue hair and red eyes that seemed to glow in the dim lights. Her Contest costume appeared to have been inspired by the sort of thing belly dancers might wear, a beautiful blue and white thing that complimented her midnight-blue hair perfectly.

Curiously, her pokemon didn't match her outfit.

The Lairon in front of her Roared, a terrifying sound that made the veteran's Hariyama cower away despite his Trainer's encouragement.

"This doesn't look good for Campion!" the local Nurse Joy exclaimed in French. "His rein as Europe's Contest master may be over!"

"I have a feeling that Renée could become our newest Contest mistress." Mr Contesta smiled. "For those of you who have followed her progress throughout this past year, you'll know of her pokemon's strength, and her own willpower- this will definitely be Campion's greatest challenge yet."

 _Not if Adelard and I have anything to say about it,_ Campion snarled.

This woman- this _girl_ \- wasn't going to end his time just like that. Campion refused to allow a newbie Coordinator with a tendancy to annoy get in his way.

"Adelard, show this girl who owns these Contests!" the Frenchman called, grinning to himself. If he could just get his Hariyama to use Superpower or _something_ , he could end this fight and keep his title.

But all the young woman did was smile back at him, and seconds later her Lairon Roared again and took several heavy steps towards Adelard, who backed away again.

 _What is_ wrong _with him?_ Campion wondered, frustrated.

The young woman blinked slowly, and suddenly the Lairon- which had been slow and heavy up until now- shot forward with shocking speed that wasn't normally associated with that species.

Its' head reflected what little light there was in the hall, causing a blinding flash. Campion took a step back and shielded his eyes with an arm, already knowing what that meant- Iron Head. Powerful attack, but with a pokemon like Lairon, it would normally have been hard for the attack to connect because the opponent would have already gotten out of the way.

But in this case, it didn't look like the Lairon would have any problems.

At least now he knew what the Roaring was for. Those metallic, almost demonic screeches would terrify anyone.

There was a massive _BANG-CLASH_ as the Steel attack hit, and Adelard was thrown backwards violently. He was knocked out instantly and Campion lost what little points he had left.

Looked like his rein was over, after all.

Three hours later, after Europe's Contest master's astounding and embarrassing defeat, the young woman paid for a room in a local hotel. It was exclusive, and the only reason she was getting in to begin with was because of her win in the Contest.

Plus the Lairon by her side scared the receptionist just by simply being there. The woman- who was older than the young, blue haired woman- was afraid of Steel tyes. Especially ones like Lairon.

The young woman didn't understand her fears, her Lairon wasn't a terrifying beast at all. In fact, compared with some of her team members, he was cuddly as fuck.

Up in her room (top floor, basically what people would call the 'penthouse' but she just called 'motherfucking fancy as hell') the young woman fell backwards and collapsed with a grin onto her bed. Her Lairon made his way over and climbed on as well, which was fine by her because she wasn't the one paying for this room- some random woman from the city of Nice was.

She could probably afford it. Might take her half a lifetime to pay off the bill, but that wasn't the young woman's problem.

"Well, that went epically, didn't it?" the young woman asked her pokemon.

 _"OF COURSE IT DID. I WOULD HAVE BEEN WORRIED IF IT'D GONE ANY OTHER WAY."_ the Lairon replied.

"Balthazar would have killed us if we didn't win." the young woman laughed.

 _"NO, I THINK HE WOULD HAVE JUST PUNCHED OUR EYES OUT."_ the Lairon corrected her.

"That too." she agreed. "So, where's the next Contest?"

 _"THERE'S APPARENTLY A MASTER RANK GOING ON NEXT WEEK IN PARIS."_ the Lairon suggested. _"HOW ABOUT THAT?"_

"Ah, _la capitale de la France_." the young woman said softly. "How much do you think it'd cost some unsuspecting citizen to get us the best rooms in the best hotel?"

 _"NO IDEA."_

"Good, we can surprise the first idiot we find in Paris." the young woman told him.

A ringing sound surprised her. The young woman shot up and sat bolt upright, reaching for something on her that she didn't have (you couldn't exactly conceal a knife on a belly dancer costume).

The Lairon rolled his eyes and reached over to the bedside table, a fancy thing that cost thousands of pokepounds and would probably break if anything heavier than a small pop bottle was put on it. He gently took hold of a PokeGear that was ringing loudly and threw it to the young woman.

" . . . I knew that." she said unconvincingly, catching the PokeGear.

The Lairon made it pretty clear that he was calling her Tauros-shit by his look. That Steel/Rock type was too sassy for his own good sometimes.

The young woman looked at the PokeGear, frowning thoughtfully. Then she flipped it open and put it to her ear.

"I speak more than twenty different languages, which one would you like me to curse you in?" she demanded.

 _"Is that how you reply to an old friend, Reyna?"_

"Oh, you." the young woman sighed, flopping back down onto her bed. She put the PokeGear on speaker so her Lairon could hear as well. "Hi, Neron. And it's Rena, not Reyna. Y'know, Reh-nah."

 _"I'm sorry, I got confused. You do have over a hundred different aliases, after all. One of them happens to be called Reyna."_ Neron replied.

" _Oh mein verdammter Mew, ich hasse dich FBI-Agenten_." Rena muttered.

 _"_ _Beißen Sie Ihre Zunge, Rena._ _"_ Neron replied.

Dammit.

"So, what do you want, how did you get my number and why are you calling me at-" Rena checked the clock on the wall. "-ten to midnight."

 _"It's only eleven over here."_

"That's even worse." Rena told him. "Answer my questions, fed."

 _"Technically I am not a fed, I just run a semi-secret division of the Government."_ Neron said. _"And contradicting that, I'm a fed- I can find out what I need."_

"Uh-huh." Rena nodded.

 _"HE'S GONNA ASK FOR A FAVOUR, ISN'T HE."_ the Lairon sighed.

"Yeah, probably."

 _"Was that your Aron?"_ Neron asked. _"He sounds different."_

"Cas evolved." Rena informed him flippantly. "He's now able to crush anything in his way like a bulldozer. It's fucking amazing."

 _"I'm sure it is. So, what are you right now? Reyna Bright, expert neurologist? Rico Bytheway, former Gym leader of some obscure Russian town?"_

"Renée Essie, mistress of Contests in Europe. Me and Cassie just kicked the ass of the guy that was meant to be the master, but he was a total pushover." Rena laughed. "So, why are you calling me?"

 _"I see I can't get anything past you, as always . . . I need a favour, Rena."_

 _"CALLED IT."_ the Lairon said.

"What kind of favour? Assassination, espionage, armed robbery? Need me to take the fall of some idiot in your agency that screwed up again?" Rena listed. "Or did your wife kick you out and you need a safehouse?"

 _"That was one time, and we're divorced now."_

"Still happened and I will forever hold it over your head like a carrot, stop dodging the damn question."

Neron sighed, and the sound sort of crackled over the PokeGear. _"You've heard about the situation in Johto, yes?"_ he asked.

"Yeah, I tortured it out of one of your probies." Rena said.

 _"Would you please stop doing that."_

"No."

 _"Fine, whatever. I've sent two of my agents to Johto on a double undercover mission, incognito as newbie Trainers."_ Neron explained.

"And this has something to do with me, why?"

 _"I want you to go down and help them. They've been on missions before, but never like this."_

"Tell me you didn't send the probies."

 _"No, I sent two of the Deviant agents. Specifically, two of the youngest we currently have so that their cover doesn't raise suspicion."_ Neron told her.

Rena shot up again and stared at the PokeGear open-mouthed.

"Are you _insane_?" she demanded. She just about kept herself from shouting. "You sent two kids to stop a nucleur war from some unknown bunch of crack-heads?"

 _"No, I sent two of the most capable Deviant agents we have. Do you remember Green Oak and Toni Lithium?"_

"You could have said it was them from the start." Rena said, slipping down again. "If they're on the case, why do you want me over there as well?"

 _"I would have sent Marco, but he doesn't have a pokemon capable of traveling hundreds of miles in less than an hour."_ Neron replied. _"You, on the other hand, do. Also your very,_ very _diverse skill set would be a great help in their mission."_

"I hate that about me." Rena muttered.

 _"Of course. I'll send you the exact details tomorrow. When can you make your way over to Johto?"_ Neron asked.

"Well, there's a Master rank Contest in Paris me and Cas wanna destory. That's in a week's time. So, maybe two weeks or something, depending on how long the after-party'll last."

 _"What if they need you sooner than that?"_ Neron challenged.

"Dude, have you seen what those two can do? If anything I'd be more worried about whoever they're tracking down." Rena shrugged. Not that he could see it over the PokeGear, but whatever.

 _"Hm."_

"You said they're on a double undercover mission, right? You've only told me half the story." Rena reminded him.

 _"Like I said, nothing can get past you."_ Neron muttered. _"Their second mission is to find Deviants in a list of cities and towns in Johto. Our Psychics have detected a small number of Deviants there, so I've sent Green and Toni to essentially kill two Flying types with one stone."_

"They're more or less the kind of people you'd send after terrorists, not Deviants who probably don't know about their powers." Rena scoffed. "Green's not that bad, but Toni's more likely to blow up than he is. Neither of them are exactly people-persons."

 _"Yes well, they're the closest to the normal starting age we have."_ Neron said. _"Anyone else and the cover would be too suspicious. And before you ask, no one else would be suitable. The Psychics have reported that most of the unknown Deviants appear to be kids. I thought perhaps they would respond better to their own age group."_

"For once, you might have an excellent point." Rena nodded slowly. "Alright, fine. Two weeks, maybe less, maybe more, depending on the after-party for the Master rank in Paris."

 _"Contests don't have after-parties."_

"I'm in France."

 _"Enough said. Would you like me to inform Green and Toni of your arrival?"_

"Nah, I like surprising people. Maybe I can have a Big Damn Heroes moment too." Rena mused, smiling slightly. Her Lairon muttered something about nutters. "Shut up, Cassie."

 _"I'm not sure I want to know what a 'Big Damn Heroes' moment is."_ Neron interrupted. _"Just do what you can."_

The PokeGear clicked and he was gone.

Rena rolled her eyes and stood up, stretching her arms. That man never said goodbye, seriously. What, did his second wife traumatise him or something? That woman had been a devil.

She twisted around and grinned at the Lairon. "Well Castiel, looks like we've got ourselves a job." Rena said.

 _"FANTASTIC."_

 **oooo**

They made it past Cherrygrove city a couple of days later. Green wasn't sure if that meant they were safe from whoever was after Twin, his newest team member (even if it was a kind-of-forced one), but whatever.

It also gave him a chance to figure out how to find another teammate who wasn't a possible convict. Or something like that.

He was also wondering how in the hell Cherrygrove was a city when some of the _towns_ on the map were bigger than it.

"Oh my Mew, will you stop?" Toni exclaimed loudly. "For the love of Arceus, I don't know why it's called a city, now will you shut up?"

"Not until I figure it out." Green told her. "It's just about half the size of freaking New Bark, and that's a town, so that should make Cherrygrove a village or at least a small town, but it's a city instead."

Twin looked like she was regretting coming with them already.

 _"Oh my god even I'm not this annoying Green shut up before Ice ices you wow that was weird to say Ice is gonna ice you wow hey does anyone know where this Dark Cave thing is supposed to be because I can't see anything that looks like a cave."_ Sparkless said, zipping around randomly.

 _"You guys are way more exciting than my old clan."_ Hopeless grinned.

That was basically how it went for the next couple of days as well.

They hadn't spent long in Cherrygrove, and it was pretty obvious why, but the distance between Cherrygrove and Violet city was a hell of a lot bigger than two or three days' worth of traveling- so basically that meant more time for training the new pokemon (Sparkless not included obviously).

According to the list Neron had given them, there was a Deviant in Violet city. Just one. There was two in Azalea town, but Violet city was closer and wasn't surrounded by a cave and hostile forests/swamps/whatever.

So that was where they were headed now. Of course, Toni complained and said that they could easily just skip on Violet and work from the bottom of the map and go upwards, but Green considered himself lucky that basically everyone else agreed with him.

Better to go the normal Routes, he'd told Toni. Their covers were starting Trainers, and going off the map like they knew what they were doing would raise suspicion if they got caught. Of course, they could always pull the 'lost little kids' trick again, but that would only work so many times.

And let's not forget the fact that there was a pseudo-Legendary with them.

If that didn't scream 'we are not like the others', then what the hell didn't?

 _"Hyah!"_

 _Crack._

"Woah wait, hold up a second." Green called, holding up a hand. He used a gentle Confusion to stop Hopeless from wandering off again and glanced at the rest of the group. "Anyone else hear that?"

 _"Kyah!"_

 _Crack!_

"Oooh, I hear something cool going on and we're not anywhere near it." Toni said.

 _"Sounds like freak-feathers over here."_ Ice said, pointing a claw at Twin, who scowled at him.

Green looked at Twin. "How far are your pursuers willing to go to catch you?" he asked her.

 _"Considering what they think I did-"_ What she still hadn't told them she'd supposedly not done. _"-very, very far. Military flocks like mine are incredibly persistent."_

 _"That sounds like a bad thing for us."_ Nameless said.

"Imma go see what it is!" Toni cried, rushing off in a random direction.

"Toni- TONI!" Green yelled. "Wrong way!"

She stopped and looked back. Green pointed to the left. Toni gave him a thumbs up and ran off that way instead, shouting something about mysteries and violence.

Twin gave Green an open-beaked look. _"Why would you do that?"_ she demanded.

"You wanna tell her she can't go?" Green shot back, already wandering off after his friend.

It took about half a minute of almost getting lost, but eventually Green- and the pokemon following him- found Toni standing at the edge of a small-ish clearing.

There was a half-grown tree in the middle of said clearing, and a Pidgey that was smaller than Twin but somehow seemed to have a bigger wingspan was hitting the tree repeatedly.

Even as Green watched, she reared up in mid-air and hit the tree again. He could see a faint sheen on her wings, so maybe the Pidgey was trying to teach herself some sort of attack. Wing Attack maybe? Sky Attack? It was fairly possible.

Or maybe some sort of combo, god knows he and Toni had come up with their fair share of combo attacks, Thunder Beam being one of many.

 _"She is not of my flock."_ Twin said, gliding down from the trees to land next to Hopeless. _"In fact, judging by her markings, she is an outcast."_

 _"You can tell that just by looking at her marks?"_ Hopeless tilted her . . . body? Head?

 _"Yeah, it's pretty easy if you know what to look for."_ Ice replied, before Twin could even consider answering. While he spoke, she glared at him. _"A wild Pidgey belonging to a flock would normally have solid black markings, and they'd sort of curl around the wings and connect with the lines coming down from the cheeks."_ He gestured to Twin, whose markings were just like he'd described. _"A Pidgey hatched in civilisation would have what you humans call 'normal' markings, just a jagged, solid black streak covering the eyes and parts of the cheeks like makeup or something."_

 _"And a wild outcast Pidgey has the same markings as a wild flock Pidgey,"_ Nameless broke in. _"But their markings are more translucent than solid, so they look more light grey-ish than black."_

Looked like Ice wasn't the only smartass on their teams. Good to know.

 _"I was going to say that."_ Twin glared at the two of them.

Nameless shrank back, which was understandable since he was a Grass type and she was a Flying type, but Ice just ignored her completely.

 _"Is there a reason you lot are here?"_ the Pidgey in the clearing suddenly shouted to them.

Green jumped. Her back was to them, how did she know they were there?

 _"She read the air."_ Twin told him, smirking slightly. _"Bird pokemon are able to do that. I trust you knew of this already, however?"_ she went on sarcastically to Ice.

The Pidgey in the clearing turned around and looked at them, and once again Green was startled.

The feathers on her face appeared to be following their own rules- they were all completely black. Solid black, that is. If Green didn't have Twin or Tiago for comparison, he wouldn't have known this bird was a Pidgey to begin with.

But the rest of her markings were just like Nameless had said about an outcast wild Pidgey. It was just the black feathers on her face that were completely different.

 _"Before you ask, yes, this is my real face."_ the Pidgey said. She spread her wings- which were also black underneath but normal on top and definitely bigger than Twin's- and flew over to them, settling down a few feet away.

Twin looked like she wanted to vomit. Could birds actually vomit? He'd have to look into that, it was just one of those questions you never really bothered to ask about.

"Dude, that is one seriously epic birthmark." Toni told the Pidgey.

 _"Thank you. That's probably the first time anyone has actually said as much, if I'm honest."_ the Pidgey said, smiling slightly.

"Well shame on whoever didn't say so!" Toni scoffed, crossing her arms.

 _"I'm curious, were you actually hatched with that or did it grow as you did?"_ Ice asked her.

 _"I was hatched with it, if being abandoned for looking like some sort of half-Spearow freak is anything to go by."_ the Pidgey told him.

"You look like you're faceless!" Toni exclaimed.

"Stop it, you're gonna offend her." Green hissed, giving her a not-too-gentle nudge with Psychic. "And have some sensitivity, will you?"

"I'm no stranger to abandonment." Toni shrugged.

Great, now he felt like a dick.

At least Toni didn't sound particularly bothered about it.

 _"What were you doing just now?"_ Hopeless asked, bringing everyone back to the original reason they'd broken off from the not-quite-there path.

 _"Oh, you mean this?"_ the Pidgey said, gesturing to the tree with a two-toned wing. _"Training. I heard some of the caught pokemon talking about combo attacks, made from two moves- or more in some cases, I think they said. One of them saw me watching and taught me an attack called . . . Steel Wing, I think? And another one taught me Air Cutter."_

 _"So you're trying to combine those two?"_ Ice frowned. _"How?"_

 _"You see this?"_ The Pidgey lifted up a wing and it shone slightly, reflecting the fading light. _"A weaker version of Steel Wing, since the pokemon who taught it to me- a Steel bird called a . . . Skarmory- couldn't stay too long and wasn't able to give me a full tutorial for it. This is the best I can manage, and it's useful when those bullying Geodudes try and throw rocks at me, but I want to make it more powerful just in case it doesn't always work. So I thought I'd try surrounding the Steel Wing with the Air Cutter, so it'll be reinforced."_

Green was kind of surprised that a wild pokemon had figured all of that out for herself. No offence to any wilds, but normally they didn't learn about the possibility of combining two attacks until they were caught (and that was _if_ the Trainer wanted to 'waste time' figuring it all out).

Seemed like this pokemon was pretty set on getting stronger. Again something you didn't see in wild pokemon that often.

 _"Smart, for a supposed outcast wild bird."_ Ice had the same opinion too, but he was more blunt about it.

Luckily the black-faced Pidgey didn't seem to care.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Toni suddenly exclaimed. "Why don't you try out the combo- uh, what do you call it?"

 _"I like to call it Steel Cutter, but that's just me. I'm pretty sure people can come up with something better."_ the Pidgey said.

"As far as names go, that's pretty good." Green reasurred her. And it certainly was, he'd been expecting something like 'Air Wing' or 'Cutter Wing'.

 _"Thank you."_ The Pidgey was pretty happy with that.

Okay, if Green ever got the chance, he'd have a word with whoever came up with the whole 'outcast' thing. It looked like this bird hadn't ever had anyone call her weird 'faceless' birthmark cool before, and for that same reason she'd been abandoned upon hatching.

Pretty lucky that most species of pokemon developed inside of the egg, learning skills and the pokemon language, so an abandoned egg hatching alone would be able to survive in the wild. He wasn't sure how an abandoned egg would survive in a human city.

"Yeah anyway, back to what I was saying." Toni waved her hands around wildly. "Why don't you try Steel Cutter in an actual battle? I'd be happy to help! Well, if my team's fine with it."

Huh, normally she just went ahead with whatever it was she was gonna do and bollocks to the rest of them. Was Toni evolving?

Toni gave Green a side-glare like she knew what he was thinking.

 _"I'll have a go!"_ Hopeless cried, holding up a paw like she was in school or something. _"The only battles I've had so far are a bunch of Rattatas, and that's boring. And I wanna see this Steel Cutter thing properly!"_

 _"If she's fine with it, sure."_ the Pidgey agreed, shrugging.

A few minutes later, Green and the pokemon (minus Hopeless, obviously) were sitting on a bunch of giant tree roots from some massive-ass tree he didn't know the name of. Toni was on one side of the clearing with Hopeless in an attacking position a few feet in front of her, and the Pidgey was on the opposite side with her two-toned wings spread out impressively.

 _"Dibs on Faceless."_ Ice randomly announced.

"We're not betting on the winner." Green told him.

 _"Hopeless might win, though!"_ Nameless said. Loyal to his teammates, of course. Chikoritas generally were.

 _"I think that Steel Cutter move sounds awesome hey maybe if Faceless decides to come with us she can teach that to Twin it might be a fun thing to see and learn and whatever Green what do you think Toni kinda does need a bird on her team am I right or what?"_ Sparkless asked. He was buzzing above Green's head, not quite touching the tree trunk.

And once again Green had to take a few seconds to figure out what the hell it was that Sparkless had even said. "Uh, yeah. She does need a bird on her team, but it's not like there's any rush." he told the hyperactive Rotom.

Well, if the Pidgey did decide to come with them (which was kind of unlikely at this point), it wouldn't be hard to tell the difference between her and Twin. Even if their markings were _both_ solid or translucent, the faceless birthmark was pretty damn distinctive no matter how you looked at it. Not to mention the two-toned wings.

And since when had they started calling the Pidgey Faceless?

At least it fit in with Toni's naming theme. And unlike just about every other name (Needleless, Sparkless, Hopeless . . . he couldn't say anything about Nameless, since that was his idea) it actually made sense.

"You ready?" Toni called to the Pidgey- screw it, Faceless.

 _"Of course! Are you?"_ Faceless shouted back.

"Yep!" Toni said, after a quick glance at Hopeless, who waved her tail in agreement. "Hey, someone give us a count-down!"

"This is not _8 Out Of Ten Cats_." Green muttered. He raised his voice. "Fine- three, two, one, get moving!"

Faceless exploded forwards, the silver reflective sheen already on her wings and slightly blinding. She flew up and very well out of the way of Hopeless, who tried to slash at her with a Fury Swipes.

Green could just about see the air being reshaped around Faceless's wings. The small 'air cuts' that gave Air Cutter its' name would probably serve the combo attack- Steel Cutter- just like Faceless had said, but it was probably a good idea to keep an eye on it anyway.

After all, none of them had actually seen it in action yet.

Faceless banked right and flew in a wide circle several feet above Hopeless, who had gotten onto her tail and was slashing at the air like she was attempting to send any of her attacks towards the bird pokemon.

 _"Come down here so I can hit you!"_ Hopeless called.

 _"I'm not stupid!"_ Faceless laughed.

She shot off into the trees, and Hopeless jumped back onto her paws. The Sentret looked around cautiously, and then had to do a double-flip to avoid the sudden attack from the opposite direction.

Fast Pidgey. Didn't seem as fast as Twin, but she was pretty damn quick- and her speed had surprised Twin too.

The Air Cutters surrounding Faceless's wings shredded some of the grass and left a worryingly accurate image of what could have happened had the attack connected as she shot by.

Hopeless gaped at the impression left behind and had to flip again, using her tail to go several feet into the air, to avoid another dive-bomb.

 _"You're right, this is much better than hitting that tree!"_ Faceless shouted to Toni. _"A moving target is more fun!"_

 _"Your definition of fun and mine are completely different!"_ Hopeless cried.

Faceless laughed loudly and came to a sudden halt in mid-air, quickly reaching back with her wings until the tips nearly touched behind her back. And then she snapped her wings forward and every single Air Cutter that had been surrounding her wings were thrown forwards.

Hopeless was hit and sort of bounced along the grass. She was just getting back up with a wince when Faceless dive-bombed her again, hitting her with a steel-infused wing that sent Hopeless rolling away.

"Ouch." Green winced. "Pretty powerful attack for a wild Pidgey."

 _"You are saying we wild birds are unable to comprehend the concept of strength?"_ Twin demanded icily.

"I didn't mean it like that and you know it."

Wow, his team was gonna be a freaking handful.

Oh well, at least this run wasn't gonna be boring- and with their mission, it was pretty much guarunteed that interesting things were gonna happen one way or another.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Yeah so, I've added in a ninja . . . assassin . . . whatever. Anyone wanna guess what Rena was saying? First language is French, obviously, and the second one's Russian if anyone can't figure it out. And kudos to anyone who can guess what Renée Essie basically translates to. Or you could just ask me, there's always that. I'd be happy to tell you!

Green: Also let's not forget how you basically handwaved at least three different captures, and one of them was pretty different in _Redemption_.

Renny: Yeah about that . . . I just realised my problem, because now I have two characters to write for there isn't just a single team of six- there's two teams of six. So that's fourteen characters, each with different personalities. Ugh, it's gonna be a headache . . . the good news is I have the personalities of the team from _Redemption_ already, so the only real problem I'm gonna have is with the new ones. Btw, Faceless (yes, that's her actual name) has an Adamant nature. I kinda wanted her personality to be more like Twin but then I realised I couldn't have three sarcastic assholes (Ice and Twin are enough) so I had to change her to be very driven to become stronger.

Green: Was there anything else?

Renny: Oooh yeah, I'm basically going with a UA for this fic now. Figured it'd be boring as hell if I just stayed with the normal world the manga gave us fans, so I've changed stuff. As if Rooke's appearance in the lab was any indication- and also the fact that France and England exist. Also other languages. Anyway, any questions, just ask me, and read and review!


	4. Chapter 4- Purple Everywhere

Renny: So far I'm only actually in contact with one reviewer, and he/she has already read them, but for some reason I'm getting the feeling that this fic isn't exactly as well-read as it could be.

Green: You do realise that most of the reviews from _Redemption_ were repeat reviewers, right? And most of them reviewed every chapter or so, and you had fifty-odd chapters?

Renny: Yeah I know, but I got five reviews for the first chapter- and I've updated twice in the last two or three weeks and no one except that one reviewer has even hinted at reading the damn things. I'm not being a whiny bitch or anything, I just wanna know that people're reading it so I can keep track of who likes it and what kinda stuff makes sense (not to mention the fact that I want some people to guess at the name thing for Rena's fake Contest name).

Green: And you can't exactly do all that without reviews, right?

Renny: Exactly!

Green: . . . I'll let you off the hook. Someone review so she'll shut up. Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

 _"So wait, the pokemon go around saving others in teams of five, and most of what they do is completely illegal?"_

"Yeah. Though sometimes they do more- or less- than saving other pokemon."

 _"Right, you said they explored places too."_

"Uh-huh. There was this one episode where Team Brine explored this massive underground magma cavern thing, and they found a giant stone room filled with Fire and Sun Stones."

 _"Huh."_

"I know, right? If it was live-action, I would have been wondering where they even got the Stones from, but it's an anime so . . ."

 _"Excuse me!"_ Twin snapped.

Green and Ice looked up.

 _"Be silent."_ she went on angrily. _"Not all of us wish to hear of this . . . an-ee-may."_

"I think you'd like it though," Toni said, from a few feet in front of them. "Cus there's a team of Flying and Dragon types who call themselves Team Limit, as in like, the sky's the limit or something. The leader's this badass Pidgeot who-"

"Isn't your favourite Team Deadswitch?" Green interrupted.

"Well, yeah, but I keep track of the other ones as well."

 _"Deadswitch?"_ Nameless repeated, looking confused. His leaf swayed slightly as he glanced between his Trainer and Green.

"Team of Ghost types, and the leader's a Manectric called Switch- hence the name." Green explained.

 _"Makes sense, I guess?"_

"There's also Team Flora, whose leader is a one-eyed Meganium with a temper to rival a Charizard's Blast Burn!" Toni shouted, jumping into the air and spinning slightly. She almost lost her balance and only managed to straighten up when Faceless head butted her gently in the back. "Thanks, Facey." Toni said.

 _"No problem!"_ Faceless replied. _"So what's this Team Limit like, anyway?"_

"Well . . ."

Green wasn't entirely sure how the conversation had started.

They were walking through Route 30, nearing 31 and coming towards Dark Cave in hopes of finding an interesting pokemon in there (Toni wasn't particularly bothered, she had three/four already, but Green did sort of need to catch up).

Naturally, Toni- not liking any silences she deemed as 'awkward' despite the fact that most of them weren't- had started chatting the second she could, and somehow some random offhand comment that Ice made about her being a living reference sheet made her launch into a would-have-been long speech about the awesomeness of _Pokemon Underground_.

Green had taken over, because Toni had started going on about her own opinions and was totally ignoring the fact that none of the pokemon besides Sparkless knew who the characters were, or the plot, or even anything about the show at all.

Like he'd said, he wasn't sure how she'd gotten _Pokemon Underground_ from Ice saying she was a living reference sheet. She was weird like that, made the weirdest connections in the most random things ever.

One time Toothless had said something about a Skitty going nuts on the news (it only got on the news because England apparently had nothing better to report) and somehow Toni had made a connection between that and the world's largest Sunkern.

They were still wondering how.

The weather was just about as reliable as Toni's linking skills, so half an hour later it was raining and pouring like hell. Green didn't particularly care, but everyone else was complaining.

"Still not seeing what the problem is. I like rain." Green said, after the fifth time that everyone glared at him.

 _"You have an umbrella."_ Nameless told him, trying and failing to use his leaf as one.

No, he didn't. All Green had was a psychic shield over his head so he wouldn't get- oh.

 _Ooooh._

So that was why they were all glaring at him.

Green smiled slightly and extended the psychic shield to cover all of them, and then he seperated it so they all had their own private shield. Wouldn't want to restrict anyone to a ten foot radius or whatever, after all.

 _"Oh, so you do consider other living beings now and then."_ Ice snarked.

Green smirked and retracted the psychic shield over his head. The rain hit Ice at full force and he yelped, but quickly recovered because- hello- he was a Water type. It was basically fundamental for him to like rain, or any kind of wetness (stop thinking that. Seriously. He's only twelve).

 _"Hey, I scouted ahead- there's an opening in the rock face nearby!"_ Faceless called suddenly. When did she scout ahead? Green needed to start recording how fast the two Pidgeys on the team were.

"Well don't just stand there like total lemons, c'mon!" Toni shouted, dashing off.

She was too quick for Green to react, so he wasn't able to keep her shield over her head- and Toni ended up getting soaked within seconds.

Toni stopped, stared up at the sky, cursed loudly and walked moodily back under her shield.

"That was heroic." Green said.

"Shut up." Toni muttered.

"No, really, it was so heroic. I don't think anyone else in this ragtag group of freaks is as brave or courageous as you are."

"No, really, shut up." Toni snapped back. "Let's just go already."

"Oh I'm sorry, did I upset you?" Green smirked.

"You know what?" Toni suddenly grinned. "Fuck you."

She shoved Green and he fell onto the ground. And out from under his shield. He got soaked as well.

Green gaped at his clothes for a second and then looked up at Toni. He narrowed his eyes and her shield vanished, and his own came back over his head.

Toni shrieked and threw herself at him.

 _"Ladies and gentlemen, these are the people responsible for stopping nuclear war."_ Ice commented.

 _"Maybe they'll get more professional."_ Nameless suggested.

 _"Yesterday I caught Toni trying to ice bucket Green while he was asleep."_

 _"We're doomed."_

 **oooo**

They found the cave eventually, when Green and Toni stopped getting mud all over themselves. Unfortuntely they couldn't exactly clean themselves, and Green wasn't able to bring made-up stuff (like clean clothes) out of his hammer space yet, only stuff he'd put in there from the real world, so they had to make do with the muddy clothes they had.

Of course, Hopeless was still wondering why they hadn't bothered to pack clothes to begin with.

"We didn't know Cherrygrove didn't have a clothes store." Toni sighed, shaking her Umbreon hat slightly. Ice had decided to stop giving them shit about their apparent immaturity (for now) and had washed that for her, and then Green had gotten it cleaned and dried and whatever in hammer space.

Pity he couldn't do the same for their clothes though.

 _"Don't you think it would have been a good idea to check this before you came here from- what was it again? England?"_ Hopeless asked. Toni and Green nodded. _"Yeah, see?"_

 _"The good news is we don't need to worry about them getting any worse, I think the sun's coming up soon."_ Nameless said. He was pretty much keeping watch near the mouth of the cave they were in.

Said cave led into a tunnel which apparently, according to the pokedex map (and the DataLink), led into Dark Cave- but it didn't give any specficics whatsoever. So basically they didn't know where Dark Cave began.

 _"I would ask how you know this, but is this not a Grass pokemon ability?"_ Twin asked.

 _"Yep."_ Nameless replied. _"Some Grass types- for example, my species- can give slightly accurate predictions of the weather based on the movements of the sun. Something something photosynthesis, I think. I don't know exactly how it works, but it does and I don't wanna question it too much."_

 _"I could tell you everything about it."_ Ice casually mentioned.

"We'd rather have the mystery." Green told him. The Totodile shrugged.

 _"Suit yourselves. You wanna be clueless, fine."_ he said.

"Ooooh that's a good name!" Toni cried.

"No, you've already called her Hopeless, we don't need a pokemon called Clueless as well." Green told her.

"Aw."

 _"Children."_ Ice muttered.

 _"You should attempt to be more professional."_ Twin informed the two Deviants. _"If you are the representatives of this . . . city of yours, and your entire species, you would do well to adopt a more professional manner."_

"I don't think two twelve year olds can speak for an entire city and species." Toni retorted.

Someone giggled.

Everyone in the cave jerked in surprise, and looked around frantically. It was Faceless who spotted her.

 _"There."_ the black-faced Pidgey said, raising a wing to point behind Green.

He turned around and saw a smiling Geodude. She was somehow different to other Geodudes, and he couldn't really place why- and then he looked at her eyes. They were a beautiful purple.

He'd heard about this- some of the Rock Deviants and/or their pokemon had explained it to him. Sometimes you could find a Rock typed pokemon with strangely coloured eyes, and the most common Rock type that was found in was the Onix family, strangely enough.

These Rock types were called Birthstone Rock pokemon, because their eyes would always be the colour of some sort of birthstone. Birthstone Rock pokemon were actually rarer than shiny pokemon.

And there was one right in front of them.

"Holy hell, is that a Birthstone?" Toni breathed. At least she wasn't downplaying the moment like she always was.

 _"What's a Birthstone?"_ Hopeless asked.

Ice turned to her and started to whisper, and the other caught wild pokemon listened in.

Although of course, if Toni didn't ruin an amazing moment, that meant Sparkless would do her job for her.

 _"Oh wow a Birthstone Rock type how cool is this wow wow wow hey what's your name is it Birthstone because that'd be so ironic wow your eyes look like amethysts oh hey guys wasn't there a Golem on_ Pokemon Ungerground _called Amethyst with the same eyes like this what a coincidence!"_ he cried.

 _" . . . Is he alright?"_ the Birthstone Geodude asked.

"No." Green said.

"Yes." Toni said.

The Geodude looked between them and blinked, and she giggled again.

 _"You don't seem to be able to agree on anything. Does your group argue a lot, or is this just a one-off thing?"_ she wondered.

"Far as we can tell, we're-"

Sparkless interrupted Green. _"Crazy and weird and hilarious and pranky and silly and loud and really really really really really insane?"_ the Rotom suggested.

"Pranky is not a word." Green muttered.

"It is when Sparkless is talking." Toni corrected him.

"Good point."

 _"I'm gonna guess 'yes'."_ the Geodude said, tilting her . . . face?

 _"You'd be correct in your guess. Hey, kid, you wanted something from Dark Cave, how about her?"_ Ice said, walking over. Seemed he'd finished explaining the concept of Birthstone Rock types to the others.

Though Nameless didn't seem so happy, because the entire team(s?) had turned to him and were now drilling into him for info. Wow. Maybe they wanted a new perspective. Ice did give out info in a tone that suggested he thought they should already know whatever he was explaining.

"Don't be so blunt!" Green exclaimed.

 _"Hypocrite."_

"No, I just don't wanna advertise that I'm trying to catch something here for a team of literally two pokemon." Green snapped back.

"That's kind of even worse, and you just said it yourself." Toni pointed out. Green glared at her.

 _"I don't mind."_ the Geodude suddenly broke in. _"Really. I did kinda . . . wanna ask if you were taking applications anyway."_

 _"How do you know what an application is?"_ Ice asked.

"Seriously?" Green gaped at her. "W-why? I mean, I get that some pokemon do wanna have Trainers and stuff, but . . . um."

 _"To put it simply, I'm totally bored with this dump."_ the Geodude explained. _"Day in, day out, it's the exact same. Wake up, eat some granite or whatever's on the floor that's edible, slap away some annoying little shits of Zubats, avoid the water near the back, ignore the stupid looks I get whenever I walk by because of my eyes, go to sleep, wake up the next day and do the exact same thing . . . I want something different. And then you guys appeared. I guess Arceus heard me after all."_

Okay so, let's not mention that the entire reason he'd been shocked about her appearance had been because of her eyes. The Geodude would probably kill him for it or something.

"Are we gonna do this like we did with Twin?" Toni wondered.

"What?" Green said.

"What?"

"No, what did you say?"

"What?"

"Before that."

"What?"

Green sighed in frustration and Toni smirked at him. Prick. His eyes flashed purple for a second, and he rolled his eyes.

"Probably." he said. "I dunno. Hey, um, do you wanna choose who you want as a Trainer? Cus that's how I got my Pidgey."

 _"I am not 'your' anything, boy."_ Twin barked.

" . . . It's how Twin joined the team." he corrected himself.

 _"Better."_ Twin nodded, satisfied.

The Geodude blinked, and nodded slowly. She was probably regretting coming anywhere near them at this point. Or she was trying to decide- nope, Green was not gonna read her mind or anything. Besides, it wouldn't tell him much anyway, he could only really read emotions properly.

Maybe he could ask one of the Psychics to teach him how to use telepathy properly . . .

It would certainly help during battles.

 _"I think I'd like to go with you."_ the Geodude said, raising a rocky hand to point at Green.

Toni's mouth fell open. "Are you just gonna catch every single one of your new pokemon without a fight? I had to battle Hopeless and Faceless!" she cried unhappily.

"Guess mine are more mellow." Green shrugged.

 _"The hell we are."_ Ice snapped.

" . . . Yeah, he's right. Maybe I'm just lucky."

 _"The hell you are."_ Ice told him.

"Well I'm sorry, what would you call it then?" Green snapped back.

 _"We pity you."_ the Totodile suggested.

Green made a move, intending to show just how much pity he actually needed from Ice, but Toni grabbed his shirt and pulled him back.

"No you don't. Wait until we're miles away from civilisation, okay?" she told him.

"Fine, whatever. So, welcome to my team." Green turned his attention back to the Geodude. "The normal-ish Pidgey is Twin, and the asshole Totodile over there is Ice."

 _"Can you swim? If not, I suggest you learn quickly."_ Ice barked.

"My team's the Chikorita over there, he's called Nameless, the Sentret is Hopeless, the black-faced Pidgey is Faceless, and my partner pokemon here is Sparkless." Toni introduced her team, pointing at them in turn.

 _"Be thankful you did not choose her as your Tamer."_ Twin said. _"You may have received a name such as Rockless."_

 _"I heard uh . . . Sparkless, was it?"_ At Toni's nod, the Geodude carried on. _"Sparkless said something about amethyst."_

"Amethyst is a Birthstone Golem from an anime me and Toni like." Green explained. "And she does actually have the same eyes as you, now that I think about it . . . How about that? You wanna be called Amethyst?"

 _"Sure!"_ the Birthstone Geodude exclaimed.

He suddenly realised that two out of three of his pokemon were named after characters from the same show. Twin was the exception to his 'theme' or whatever, since she'd given herself a name. Oh well. He didn't mind- she had a cool name anyway, and with such weird pokemon . . .

Oh, speaking of weird pokemon, maybe he should check on that egg. He'd done it yesterday, but briefly- they'd been on the move for most of yesterday so he couldn't exactly get it out of hammer space every three minutes or so.

It had been pretty warm last time, so that meant it was getting close to hatching. And it wasn't because of the warm fire and the imaginary Kangaskhan, because that was a different kind of warmth.

No, the kind of warmth he was on about was a mental one. If all eggs had the same hatching . . . systems, or whatever, the warmth coming from the Togepi's mind meant it was going to hatch soon. Like Green said, he could only really read the emotions of living beings (telepathy was a completely different thing, even if it was slightly easier to do with pokemon than people), so it was easy to tell this sort of stuff.

 **oooo**

"I feel like making some sort of reference." Toni commented, as they went through Violet city's Eastern gate and into the city itself.

"Please don't." Green said.

"Don't worry, I can't think of one . . ."

Green sighed and decided to ignore her. He turned to the pokemon, and saw that the wild-born ones were staring up at the surrounding buildings in awe.

Well, Violet city wasn't much to look at. No offence to the locals of course, but it was more like a large town than an actual city- not like Goldenrod or Lumiose in Kalos, anyway. It might have had something to do with the Sprout Tower somewhere near the Northern parts of the city, but whatever.

"Okay, guys." he called, getting their attention. "This isn't the wild, and this isn't exactly a town or whatever, so we'll have to keep you all in your balls. Well, most of you. I guess we can get away with one or two of you out . . ."

 _"Oh, brilliant. I was looking forward to ditching you to look at the damn Gym as well."_ Ice muttered.

"Didn't we already say we ain't doing the Gym challenge?" Toni checked.

"We did."

 _"Not to wonder what could have been if you two were normal kids."_ Ice corrected them. _"I just wanted to go and look. You do know that it's a Flying Gym, right? That means I could go and check out the fighting styles. We're got two birds on the team anyway."_

" . . . Oh." Green blinked, surprised. "I didn't expect-"

 _"Lemme guess, you thought I only care about myself? Yeah, I mostly do, trademark of a complete ass. But I don't want this team to get our asses kicked easily. If that Water combo move you two are trying to work out for me does anything at all, I want to try and repay that and help out with training for the rest of the team as well."_

"Sorry. About thinking you only cared about yourself, I mean." Green told him.

 _"I can see how you'd come to that conclusion. Now, technically speaking I'm not allowed to be in a city on my own without a Trainer, so I'll just have to take a page out of your books."_ Ice said.

"What do you mean?" Toni asked him.

 _"He wants to shadow random people and pretend we belong to them."_ Nameless sighed. _"And yes, he's dragging me along with him. Even though it's a Flying Gym. I'm regretting my life choices already."_

 _"Details."_ Ice waved his claw around lazily.

"Illegal. I like it. Go on then, we'll pretend we don't know you- and please, don't let the birds get at Nameless!" Green called, as the two starters ran off.

"Eh, they'll be fine. We're doing endurance training, remember?" Toni grinned.

 _"I never started on Nameless though."_ Faceless spoke up.

"Nevermind, he's dead."

 _So optimistic,_ Green sighed.

He and Toni returned most of their pokemon. Only Sparkless- obviously- and Twin were left out. Twin instantly decided to spite Green and make a nest out of his hair.

"I keep saying you need to cut that." Toni commented, amused.

"Your hair's longer than mine." Green frowned.

"I'm a girl. What's your excuse?"

"It's messy."

 _"It is also very comfortable."_ Twin said.

"That too- get off my head."

 _"No."_

 _"Wow this is so weird and I thought I was the weirdest pokemon on the entire team turns out no hahaha hey Twin poop on his head poop on his head POOP ON HIS HEAD!"_ Sparkles shrieked.

Even Toni had some trouble with that.

While she was trying to figure out what Sparkless had said, Green was smirking to himself. Whenever that egg hatched, it would be into a very, very strange family. Or, well, what would probably be a family at some point. Whatever.

He turned around and promptly smacked right into someone else.

"Watch where you're going!" the person snapped loudly.

"Dude, why don't you?" Toni snapped back, having spun around to see what happened. She crouched down and poked Green, sending a gentle shock into his arm so the person he'd smacked into didn't see. "Hey. You still alive or what?"

"Thanks for the consideration, and yes, I'm alive. In pain, but alive." Green told her. "My ass hurts, basically."

Toni grinned.

"If you make a gay joke I'll slice your face open."

"You know me so well." she said. Toni grabbed his arm and helped him up.

"Are you gonna give me an apology or what?" the person demanded hotly.

 _"What a rude human."_ Twin sniffed from the ground. She'd fallen off when Green had been knocked down.

Green growled quietly and looked up.

A boy- probably the same age as him and Toni but, well, several inches taller- with red eyes and black hair was standing, glaring at him with his arms crossed. Was that a cap? Why was he wearing it backwards?

Why wearing a cap backwards seemed like a cool idea to the majority of kids totally escaped Green. It just made this boy look like a total punk. Not to mention his attitude. Sheesh.

"Well?" the red eyed boy demanded again.

"Wow, you're a dick." Green told him bluntly.

"Excuse me!?"

A girl- a little bit smaller than the red eyed boy but still bigger than Toni and Green- grabbed the red eyed boy's arm and pulled him back. The glare she fixed him with was enough to melt lead, but he didn't seem to notice.

"I'm sorry, my friend-" The girl pulled a face like she didn't believe the word she'd just said. "-here happens to be an idiot. You both ran into each other, but since he's being his usual dick self, he should say sorry first. Red. Say sorry."

The boy- apparently called Red, which was fitting- scoffed. "He ran into me!" he snapped. "He wasn't even looking where he was going!"

"So apparently I've got eyes in the back of my head now." Green muttered to Toni, who snickered.

 _"Is that even possible hey can I check for eyes in the back of your head wow that'd be so weird on top of you being half Psychic you've also got eyes in the back of your head that's so weird-"_

"Shut up." Green said.

"You talking to me?" Red snapped, suddenly right in front of him.

Green backed away at his sudden appearance. He held his hands up in front of himself, and glared at Red.

"Personal space, dude." he told Red. "And I was talking to this freak here." Green pointed at Sparkless.

"Is that a Rotom?" the girl asked, eyes wide and sparkling with something Green didn't particularly like. Hopefully she wouldn't act on that sparkle.

"Yes." Toni answered.

"Why is that a Rotom?"

"He's my partner, why else would he be a Rotom?" Toni shrugged. "So, back to this dude here-"

"Red." Green supplied.

"Back to Red being a dick." Toni continued.

"I'm not a dick, your boyfriend should just look where he's going!" Red hissed.

Toni and Green stared at him for several seconds in stunned silence. And then they broke out into laughter.

"He thinks _I'm_ your-" Green broke off, unable to continue because he was laughing way too much.

"Bitch please, I wouldn't tap that!" Toni cackled. "Besides, he likes dick."

Red choked, and the girl suddenly looked more interested in Green than Sparkless.

"Oh, really?" she asked, grinning.

"Holy Mew, seriously? That's just . . . wrong." Red stuck his tongue out and made a disgusted face.

"He's a homophobe." the girl stage-whispered. "In case you didn't realise."

"Most assholes appear to be." Green shrugged. "I'm no stranger to assholes. So uh, about that apology . . ."

"Forget it, freak!" Red snapped. He stormed off.

The girl rolled her eyes and turned to Green and Toni. "Now that he's out of the way . . . name's Blue. I'm basically his keeper, because no one else wants to deal with the little shit. You are?"

Green glanced at Toni. Probably wasn't much point in using their fake names, that was mostly to just get their starters and pokedexes. But it didn't hurt to be cautious.

"Tommy, and this weirdo's my twin sister Phoebe." Green introduced them.

"He's the weirdo. I'm the freak. There's a difference." Toni corrected. "This is Sparkless and that's Twin!"

"They your only pokemon, or . . .?" Blue trailed off, waiting for them to fill in the blanks.

"Nah, the others're in their balls. We are in a public city after all." Green shrugged.

"BLUE, COME ON!" Red shouted from a distance.

"PISS OFF, RED!" Blue yelled back. She turned back to Green and Toni. "Yeah, anyway, gotta go. I hope we meet again, under better circumstances. Namely, when Red isn't here to ruin things. You both seem pretty cool, so . . . see you!"

She stalked after Red, and when she got near they started arguing again. Green noticed Red gesturing heatedly at him and Toni, and scoffed.

"I get this feeling that he should have been a nice person, not a dick." Toni muttered. "Dunno why. He just seems like the sort who'd be nice and not mean. Or homophobic."

"Those people are the worst." Green sighed, running a hand through his already-messed-up hair. "Blue seems cool though, right?"

" . . . You okay?" Toni asked instead, somewhat gently for a person like her.

"Yeah. Fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well . . . last time we ran into someone like Red, you kind of . . . broke." There was probably a better way to describe whatever she was saying, but she couldn't think of anything better to say at the moment.

"I told you, I'm fine. Let's go and find the pokemon centre already." Green spun around and walked off, this time actually checking where he was going.

Didn't want to run into someone like Red again, after all.

He missed Toni giving him concerned looks. Sparkless was also unusually quiet, but he didn't notice that either.

The two of them wandered around the city for a while until they found the pokemon centre. Actual clean clothes could wait, for now they needed a bed or something . . . or maybe clothes couldn't wait, because the looks the two of them- covered in mud and still sort of soaked from the rain shower yesterday- got when they asked for a room more or less told him that they were dirtier than he'd thought.

"We need to steal some clothes or something." Toni muttered, as they went into the lift to get to the second floor (rooms were on the second and third floors, healing stuff was on the first).

"Or maybe I could go out and actually buy some, we're trying to keep a low profile, remember?" Green whispered back.

"I do, yeah, but it's more fun if we steal stuff." Toni shrugged.

 _"Are we not going to wait for Ice and Nameless? They will not know where we are."_ Twin spoke up, still sitting on Green's head.

"They're not wild-born, so they'll assume we've gone to the pokemon centre." Green explained. "Or they could just follow the trail of dry mud we left. We _did_ leave a trail, right?"

"The glare that old lady gave us a couple of minutes ago says, yeah, we did." Toni agreed. "How about we walk around in towels? That should make some people wanna bleach their brains out."

"Might gimme a chance to practise my memory-erasing skills . . ." Green mused.

 _"You are not erasing memories and you are also not . . . making people bleach their brains."_ Twin snapped.

Did she even know what bleaching someone's brain meant? Might have guessed from how Toni used it, she was a smart Pidgey.

Whatever.

Their room was pretty standard- although, as usual, Toni quickly did an electrical check for stuff like cameras or microphones or anything that could pick up whatever they said or did. She found nothing, so they let out the rest of their pokemon and sat down on the opposing beds in the room.

"So!" Toni clapped her hands together. "How should we do it?"

" . . . Do what?" Green asked.

Toni grinned at him. "Scare Red. You want revenge, right? He's a dick, what else would we do? You wanna Ghost-scare him? Do the mind thing?"

"You'll have to be more specific, the 'mind thing' could refer to any of my Psychic abilities." Green told her.

"The thing where you warp reality."

 _"He can do what now?"_ Amethyst demanded, looking up from chatting with Hopeless.

"Only for an individual." Green explained, casting a glare at Toni, who shrugged with a small smirk. "It's more or less a simple mind trick, and it's hard to explain- I can basically make someone see, hear and occasionally feel what I want them to, but so far I can only manage one person at a time."

"He's practising though." Toni informed the pokemon. "At some point he's gonna be able to warp an entire damn room or maybe even an entire city!"

 _"I'm worried now."_ Faceless chirped. _"If Green can do that kind of stuff, what exactly does that mean you can do?"_

"Hack into the government by literally going inside the computer, take out an entire city's lights by doing the same thing or just by short circuiting the entire thing, blow up several buildings . . . I could go on." she said.

The pokemon all gaped at her, completely stunned into silence.

"I think you've traumatised them." Green told Toni.

"Heh."

There was a knock on the door. Green quickly did a mental scan to see who was on the other side, and then gestured- the door handle moved on its own and then the door opened.

 _"What if there'd been someone behind us?"_ Ice asked, as he and Nameless made their way in. Green shut the door behind them.

"I'd wipe their memory." Green shrugged.

Ice and Nameless stared.

 _"Trust me, that's not the weirdest thing he can do- apparently he can warp someone's reality as well."_ Hopeless told them.

 _"Okay, so if I ever find myself missing a memory or two, I'll know what happened to it."_ Nameless nodded. _"What about you, Toni?"_

"I can blow up half a mile of buildings using pure eletricity." Toni informed them.

 _"And if there are any unexplained explosions, we'll know who's behind them. Now, do you wanna hear about what we saw in the Gym or not?"_ Ice asked.

"You have the floor." Green gestured to the middle of the room.

 **oooo**

The Deviant in Violet was a kid. As were most of the Deviants they were trying to find, which was pretty lucky since kids took the whole 'you have superpowers congrats' thing better than adults did. Green wasn't sure why. Toni wasn't either.

Normally, like any Deviant extractions (the Agents who weren't Deviant and Neron kept trying to stop the Deviants from calling it that, but it was the best term for it), there wouldn't be many problems. Find the Deviant, which was easy since they had the name and address of said Deviant, and tell them about their abilities in the best way possible- mostly a job assigned to the older Deviants, which made Green wonder why he and Toni had been chosen.

They weren't exactly people-persons.

Anyway, normally this stuff wouldn't be an issue. 'Normally' being the key word here.

"They failed to mention the dude was the son of the fucking mayor." Toni said flatly.

The mansion in front of them- with its giant gates and walls and whatever else- stood there as if mocking them. They couldn't get in, or, well, they could get in but they didn't want to do anything to jeopardise their covers. Correction, they wouldn't go through the gates or anywhere else.

"I really should have seen this one coming." Green sighed, looking at the holographic list rising up from the DataLink's screen. It would have normally shown each Deviant they were trying to find, but Green had opened up the 'full' database on the Deviant in Violet city.

The parts where relatives of the Deviant were supposed to be were totally blank. Clearly the Psychics who'd filled the thing out didn't think they needed to know this shit.

Clearly they had been on drugs at the time, they _did_ need to know this shit.

"So, short of breaking and entering and then becoming wanted for kidnapping, how do we get in?" Toni turned to Green.

"Search me." he said, shrugging. "Not literally. Please don't actually search me."

 _"Hey, I have an idea."_ Ice said loudly.

Green and Toni looked at him.

 _"Why don't we try that?"_ he went on sarcastically, pointing at something on the wall nearby.

It was a poster. Green frowned and wandered over to it, and then stopped when he close enough to read it. He turned to Ice.

"No." Green said.

 _"Why not? The way you two act, you'd think you'd love stuff like this."_ the Totodile snickered.

"What, what is it?" Toni demanded.

"This." Green snapped, pointing at the poster. "He wants us to do a goddamn talent show!"

" . . . I don't get it." Toni admitted.

 _"Why do we need to do a talent show what's in it for us is first prize like a hell of a lot of money or something what what WHAT IS IT?"_ Sparkless shouted.

"First prize is a thousand pokepounds . . . and a night in the mayor's house." Green told them.

"Why a night in the mayor's house?" Toni blinked.

She wasn't the only one who was confused.

 _"Who cares about that can we just do it so we can get the prize money holy hell!"_ Sparkless cheered, zipping around more randomly than normal.

 _"I pointed it out because it's the best shot you have at getting in without breaking in."_ Ice spoke up, looking amused at their varying reactions. _"You could do a comedy act or something."_

"Or something, we're not doing this at all." Green snapped.

Doing some sort of freakish thing in front of Arceus-knows how many people? There was probably no way they'd lose, not with their abilities (Green could easily trick the judges into giving them the best score no matter how badly they did, and Toni . . . well, let's just not go there), but he didn't fancy having people stare at him.

No, he was definitely not gonna do the stupid talent show.

Even if it was their only way of getting into the mayor's mansion legally.

Even if it was the only way they could get at the Deviant in said mansion.

No.

Hell no.

Two hours later, after he and Toni had signed up for the talent show, Green was still wondering why he'd agreed to it.

"I mean, I'm meant to be the Psychic- do you have a third type I don't know about?" he asked Toni, as they went back to their pokemon centre room. "Ice? Sparkless? Either of you a hidden Psychic?"

 _"As far as I'm aware, no. And before motormouth opens his mouth, he doesn't either."_ Ice replied smugly.

"Then _how the fuck did I get talked into this_!?" Green snapped.

"Shut up, will you?" Toni called from her bed. "Come over here, Skype's coming online."

Green sat down moodily and watched the fuzzing screen slowly morph into an image of their living back in the city.

Zo looked up from his Raticate, Riley, as the image sharpened.

 _"How long did it take for you two to call?"_ the man asked, grinning. _"It's been, what, nearly an entire week?"_

"Gimme a break, we've been busy." Toni snorted. "Can you go get Ashley?"

 _"What, you don't wanna chat with me first?"_

"Get Ashley." Green ordered him.

 _"I'm like twice your age, you can't order me around. Oh well. YO ASHLEY, THE KIDS WANNA CHAT WITH YOU!"_

They waited for a minute while Zo went out, Riley clinging to his back and waving his tail as a goodbye, and Ashley came in from her bedroom.

 _"Hey, kids."_ the Scotswoman greeted. _"I thought you'd call before now."_

"Is everyone gonna say that?" Toni wondered.

 _"Yes. Kiara may not, but she doesn't talk much anyway."_ Ashley shrugged. _"So, what is it you need? Info? Firewalls cracked?"_

 _"Is everything you people do illegal?"_ Ice asked.

 _"Oooh was that your new pokemon? Or one of them, whatever."_ Ashley said. _"And no, not everything is illegal. Some of it's half-legal."_

Ice looked startled.

"That was Ice, he's a Totodile and he's my 'starter'." Green explained. "Ice, this is Ashley. She's a Water/Flying Deviant."

 _"Well, that explains how she understood me."_ Ice muttered.

 _"Yeah moving on. What do you need?"_ Ashley asked again, bringing them back to what they actually called for.

"Oh yeah. That. Can we borrow your Chatot for a bit?" Toni asked.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: *gets out a shield for the flamers* I'm sorry for making Red an asshole, but there is a reason for it- this is basically what I imagine him as if Green hadn't been there to help mellow him out, and vice versa.

Green: There's also the issue of him being a homophobe.

Renny: Yes, that. I know in _Redemption_ he loved Green, and Green was totally oblivious to that. But for the asshole personality to really shine through, I need something other than 'Red hates Green because Green ran into him by accident'. So now it's 'Red hates Green because Green ran into him by accident and also because Green's gay'.

Green: I guess it's better for his character development?

Renny: Yep. Also, for future reference, Green and Toni don't know that Red is the Kanto-Johto Champion. So, don't be shocked when they're shocked when they find out about it.

Green: And also Blue's basically Red's caretaker or something.

Renny: That too. Next chapter, the talent show! And also the reason why they're asking for Ashley's Chatot. Who doesn't have a name since she doesn't give her pokemon names. Read and review!


	5. Chapter 5- Pure Talent

Renny: I wonder if anyone else has noticed that Green's being slightly hypocritical with Toni?

Green: What do you mean?

Renny: Well, he always goes after her for making references to random movies or TV shows or whatever, right? But his pokemon, with the exception of Twin, are basically walking references anyway. So he's being hypocritical.

Green: Huh. I never thought of that before.

Renny: Yeah, that's why I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed- I only really got a lightbulb after chapter 2 myself. Anyway! Here's number 5, disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

The talent show took place the next day. There were lots of other people entering, some of them with pretty powerful and fully-evolved pokemon- others who were just hobbyist Trainers, and so on.

As Green looked at the registry, which showed all of the contestants for the show, he saw that most people seemed to be doing something like a mock battle.

This wasn't a damn Contest, what were they thinking? And he and Toni were going on near the last slots, as well. That meant they'd have to deal with a probably-really-bored audience who'd come to see the talents of the people and pokemon, not just the pokemon.

"I think we got pretty lucky, didn't we?" Toni asked.

"Huh?" Green looked up.

"Well, this talent show thing probably doesn't come around that often- like maybe once a year or something- so basically we got lucky. Or maybe this was a coincidence!"

Green silently pointed at one of the posters nearby. Near the bottom, highlighted in bold and coloured writing, were the words ' _a show every four days_!'.

" . . . Oh. Nevermind then."

Ugh. Whatever.

He'd been right about the majority of contestants doing something like a Contest show. Most of them were pretty good- but as he'd said before, what the people watching wanted was for the Trainers and their pokemon to do an act together, not just merely emulate something that belonged to a damn Contest.

He and Toni were having fun pointing out who would win a Contest and who would lose one.

So far, none of the contestants came close to the Coordinators they knew.

They were also just generally commenting.

"Oh, this guy's good." Toni grinned, pointing at the man currently on stage. "Look, that Petal Dance with the Roserade's something that could score big in a Beauty Contest."

"Or Smart." Green said. "But I get the feeling this guy's one of those Trainers who don't care for combo attacks."

 _"Hah shows what he knows combo attacks are the damn bomb in every country on the planet!"_ Sparkless cried.

 _"I'm glad you two like the combo stuff."_ Amethyst said from her seat. _"Otherwise my moves would be boring."_

 _"Yeah, the only bad thing is that they're so weird."_ Ice muttered.

"Oh, stick a sock in your gob." Toni told him.

Several of the people around them were giving them looks- either annoyed or confused. Annoyed because, with their entire teams out, they took up several seats (their pokemon were fairly small at the moment, so they only really took up two or three extra- but try reasoning with annoyed people). Confused because they were talking and answering to their pokemon.

Hopefully they'd just assume they were both some sort of psychics, and not human pokemon, like Ice tried to a few days ago.

"Okay, this is just sad." Toni sighed, putting a hand over her face. "I can't even watch anymore. Tell me when this chick's done."

The chick in question was using a Rattata who didn't appear to know any attacks beyond Scratch and Tail Whip. It made for a very strange dance that no one was impressed by, and the girl was sent off by the judges, in tears.

Green would have felt sorry for her if she wasn't so damn stupid.

Sure, she did get in on the act unlike just about every other contestant, but if she wanted to actually have a shot her Rattata needed some better attacks. Like, maybe Thunderbolt or something. Rattata had some of the most varied movepools, if he wasn't assuming wrongly or something.

 _"He's a battler, not a Coordinator."_ Nameless sniffed, glaring at the current man on stage- some big dude with an even bigger Machamp. _"Unless his talent is to beat down his Machamp-"_

The man did exactly that, and the two- Trainer and pokemon- promptly started to wrestle. Normally wrestling was the fakest thing on the planet, even counting the pokemon attack Fake Tears, but this looked pretty damn real.

And it _was_ real, as Green found out by giving the two a quick scan. They did this a lot, from what their emotions told him. They did this for _fun_ , actually.

Some people . . .

Well, at least he was better than the other contestants. He and his Machamp got a high score as well.

"When's our slot again?" Toni asked, as a woman with a Cherrim came on stage and started doing some weird dance that involved petals and Sweet Scent.

"We're on after her." Green replied, gesturing to the woman.

" . . . Well, at least we won't have to worry about her. Only one I'm worried about is the Machamp dude."

 _"Let us not forget whoever is going on after you two."_ Twin said.

 _"Yeah, for all we know they might be doing something even more awesome than what you have planned, or what Machamp guy did."_ Faceless added.

"Good point." Green admitted. "But I'm pretty sure no one else is planning to turn this shitshow into a musical."

The woman's slow ended with what was probably supposed to be a bang, but ended up being something like a gentle swish made from a swirling mess of leaves and scent. She got about as many points as the girl with the Rattata did.

And then it was Green and Toni's turn.

"Alright, c'mon Chatot." Green said, to the little parrot pokemon who'd been silently judging every other act.

 _"Ugh, so tacky. We're_ so _better than them."_ he said as he hopped onto Green's offered arm.

"Be nice." Green laughed.

 _"Somehow I don't see that happening."_ Hopeless muttered to the other pokemon, who all nodded in agreement.

Their experiences of Chatot so far had basically consisted of him judging them and then loudly saying exactly what he thought of them.

Ashley said it was 'part of his charm', but all Green could think was that he was so damn glad the bird wasn't going to start judging him and Toni. He'd done that already, and it was apparently Chatot's policy to never judge someone twice unless his views of them changed.

Green wasn't sure, but he thought maybe Chatot's judgements of him and Toni were changing. He just hoped the bird would announce it where there weren't many Deviants, just in case it was even worse than the first one.

"And fourth-to-last, we have the twin duo of Tommy and Phoebe with their Chatot!" the announcer, well, announced.

It took Toni a couple of seconds to work out that it was them the guy was on about, so Green just shoved her onto stage and followed- Chatot flying from his arm and hovering a few feet above stage level.

Green glanced at Toni, who nodded slighty. Then he checked Chatot was ready, and he was pretty much ready to go if the impatient glare he got in return was anything to go by.

The Ghost/Psychic Deviant turned to the audience and gave them a slightly arrogant smile- as was the characterisation of Simba at that point in his life.

Then he started singing.

"I'm gonna be a mighty king . . ."

 **oooo**

"YEEESSSS!" Toni screamed, jumping up and down with way too much enthusiasm. "FIRST PLACE, BITCHES!"

Everyone nearby who could hear her was staring in shock. Well, it wasn't every day you saw a twelve year old acting like Toni did.

"Calm, down before we get disqualified." Green sighed, as they made their way to the judges table to get their prize.

"We can't be disqualified, the show's over." Toni scoffed. She did calm down a lot, though.

 _"Technically speaking, they still can."_ Ice informed her.

"Technically speaking, shut up."

They got their prize, and a small card that would be scanned at the gates of the mayor's mansion so they could get in. Apparently, he'd been watching from his living room (or whatever the rich-people equivalent was) and had been acting as a judge from there.

Which made very little sense, but whatever.

At least the money was enough to keep them stocked up for a while. And they could buy some actual clothes instead of just borrowing something from Kai and Kiara (who had given up something very reluctantly but without a word, as usual).

A couple of hours later, Green and Toni (with only Chatot and Sparkless out) were sitting in some sort of fancy-ass waiting room in the mayor's mansion, which was more or less like the common room out of _Harry Potter_ but without the fire or the homey wallpaper- it was just white.

Basically a white version of the common room.

It was boring and it made Green want to chuck mud all over it just to piss someone off.

 _"This is so weird and I thought the city was weird look at this is this a glass Pidgeot wow I thought those could only be found in Hoenn and what was it again oh yeah wasn't it Russia I think I remember Adrik saying something about the glass Pidgeots being made in Russia hey look I found a stone head sweet!"_

"Does he have ADHD or something?" Green whispered to Toni.

"I've been asking myself the same question for three years." she replied flatly.

 _"HEY GUYS I FOUND A STONE HEAD HOW COOL IS THIS oh hey I know this asshole isn't that Red?"_

Wait, what?

Green and Toni looked over at Sparkless, who was still zipping around near the stone head he'd found. At first Green was confused, because the stone head wasn't Red's head (as far as he could tell anyway), but then he saw Red standing in one of the four or five doorways, looking completely not-impressed.

"Oh, great, you two again." he said.

"We should be saying that." Toni muttered to Green, who nodded silently.

"Red, play nice for once in your damn life." Blue hissed as she pushed past him. "Hi, you two. What're you doing here?"

"We should be _asking_ that." Toni said.

"Yes, yes, whatever." Green told her. He stood up and faced Blue, ignoring Red. "Apparently spending a night in this mansion. You?"

"Oh, we got in because Red told the mayor who he was." Blue shrugged.

"Yeah, stick that up your-"

Blue cut Red off by shoving a hand over his mouth. She gave Green and Toni an annoyed look which basically translated to 'I hate this kid'.

If she hated him, why was she traveling with him? Assuming they were traveling at all, that is.

"And who exactly are you?" Toni asked, suddenly right next to Green. He didn't jump because he was used to her randomly appearing out of nowhere sometimes.

Red pushed Blue's hand off his mouth and gaped at them. As if they should actually know.

"You don't know who I am?" he gasped. "Seriously? Haven't you seen the news lately?"

"No, not really." Green told him. "We rely on our friends for filtering out the Tauros-shit. If you got on the news, you got filtered out."

"Oh, thanks." Red said sarcastically.

"Your welcome." Toni answered brightly.

Blue snickered and didn't bother to hide it, even when Red side-eyed her with a glare.

"Fine then, I'll tell you myself. I got in because I'm the-"

"Ah, here you are!"

Red shut up and jumped, surprised. If Toni hadn't been distracted by the sudden appearance of a tall, would-have-been-fat man (had he not been Arceus-dammed ripped as hell) she would have laughed at him- however, Sparkless had seen him come in and laughed at Red in her place.

"Oh, so that Rotom on the cameras belonged to you two." the tall man hummed. "Good to know. Can you keep it-"

"Him." Toni and Green corrected.

"-him away from the electrical things? From the way he's zipping around I'd say he's one of the more hyper Rotoms." the man went on.

"Right in one, mister." Toni grinned. "Hey, Sparkless, keep a lid on it for like a minute, okay?"

 _"Just a minute or do you want me to like keep a lid on it for the entire time we're here because I can do exactly what you say and go back to weird in a minute's time but otherwise-"_

"The entire time we're here, damn you." Green interrupted before Sparkless could get carried away.

Again.

If the tall man- and Red and Blue, for that matter- was surprised that Green could apparently understand a hyper Rotom, he didn't show it. Instead he just smiled and held out a hand to Toni, who stared at him blankly.

Green sighed and took the hand in her place.

"Sorry about her, she doesn't like shaking hands." he explained. "Nor does she understand the concept of it."

"Well of course I don't, what's the point of shaking hands when a hug or a slap on the back of the head is better?" Toni asked.

"You do realise we don't live in _NCIS_ , right?"

"Yes."

"Then please stop trying to assult random people and _say hello like a normal human being_."

"Lemme think about it- no."

The tall man chuckled at their exchange.

"You two are certainly more exciting than the last winner I had in here. All he wanted to do was talk about how powerful his Rhydon was." he said. "Anyway. Hello Red, Blue."

He shook their hands, and Green sort of involuntarily got some mixed emotions from Blue. She didn't mind shaking hands, but she didn't like doing it. He wondered why and decided not to dwell on it- maybe she was like Toni.

Though he still didn't understand how the two of them got in so easily when he and Toni had to sing a song from the _Luxray King_ and win a whole talent show just to get in. Probably never would, since Red was most likely gonna hold back the information out of spite.

Ass.

"You probably don't know this, because Violet city never really gets onto the news or anything, but I'm the mayor." the tall man explained.

What.

"I just assumed you were his secretary or something." Toni bluntly stated, raising a hand almost casually.

Green poked her and she almost poked him back, but he glared and she stepped back, holding up her hands in surrender.

"Definitely more exciting." the mayor chuckled. "The name's Max- Max Right."

"Right?" Toni asked.

"Right." the mayor- Right- said.

"Right as in I'm right or right as in-"

"We're not having this conversation." Green said loudly.

"Aw." Toni sulked.

Red and Blue stared at them with wide eyes. What, had they never seen 'twins' being weird with each other? It was a thing. And he and Toni were practically twins anyway, so that was probably why their cover worked so damn well.

"You're also probably wondering why the first place prize was a night in my mansion." Right went on.

"Yeah, we were actually." Green said.

" . . . Rich but not spoiled." Chatot suddenly said.

Every human who wasn't Deviant looked startled.

"Did he just-" Red broke off, shocked.

"He _sang_ Zazu's lines for an entire song from a movie, you think he can't _speak_ human?" Toni demanded. "Oh my Mew, you really are stupid."

Red's eyes narrowed.

"Aaaand she's shutting up now." Green muttered, pulling Toni away from him before anything could blow up.

Namely Red's brain. Or, well, whatever he had in place of one.

Well, human brains did run off electricity- or so Toni kept saying, when she somehow broke any laws of the universe by frying someone's brain. And their entire body. And then their ashes for good measure.

"Also he makes judgements on people and pokemon he meets. I think that one was aimed at you." Green told Right, who looked pretty much fine with that despite how badly most tended to react.

Chatot was right. He was rich but not spoiled. You didn't see that often (okay so, Green's opinion of rich people was basically 'snobs who double as total bastards' so whatever).

"Anyway. Not many people know about this, but I have a son- and those that do know, well, they also know he has little to no motivation for anything." Right began. "I set up the talent shows and made first prize a thousand pokepounds and a night in my mansion because I wanted to see if the winners could inspire him. He's a brilliant boy, but . . . well, as I said, he lacks motivation."

"I can see why, the acts we were up against were crap." Toni muttered. "Except for that Machamp guy. He got second place and would have won if we didn't have Chatot covering Zazu's role."

"You see my problem? You two- and you two-" He pointed at Red and Blue. "-can hopefully change all of this. I did have several promising winners over the last two years, but they turned out to be completely useless and didn't even stay for three hours."

Green didn't want to know if they left out of their own free will.

"Come along, you can meet my son during dinner." Right said, walking back the way he'd come in.

"It's called tea." Toni muttered to Green, who rolled his eyes.

"People in different parts of the world call it different things." he tried to explain as they went off after Right. "We call it tea, others call it dinner."

"Dinner's at midday though!"

"I just said-"

"It's called tea and I don't care what anyone else says." Toni huffed.

"Hey, are you two from England?" Blue suddenly asked them.

Green glanced at her, surprised. How could she tell? Toni's accent wasn't the normal accent that the media associated with England (that is to say, that posh one that was basically just Cockney), and Green's was a weird combination of his old one and Toni's- he'd copied hers to the best of his ability. For a very good reason.

Which you won't be told. So stop asking.

Seriously.

Stop asking.

Stop.

"Yep- glad someone can tell. The London lot have given us a bad rep for accents." Toni said somewhat sourly. She hated being stereotyped just as much as she was a feminist.

"Oh great, now we gotta deal with two rich _English_ kids . . ." Red snorted. "If it wasn't bad enough that you were gay, now you're a total snob as well. Perfect."

"Excuse me?" Green demanded, glaring at his back.

"It makes sense though. Someone like you would be a snobby rich kid- unnatural too." Red went on.

Green's eyes narrowed. To anyone looking, his eyes would have turned a dark, threatening purple. He clenched his fists and-

Toni shoved him against the wall so hard he lost his focus. His eyes went back to normal.

Blue and Red turned around and looked at the two of them. Toni grinned, slightly nervously and as innocent as she could.

"He lost his balance. And he says I have horrific balance- dude, you are what is known as a hypocrite." she said.

Green grunted, rubbing his head. Did she have to shove him that hard?

"Go on, we'll catch up." Toni told Red and Blue.

Red and Blue glanced at each other and then went off after Right.

Toni turned to Green and folded her arms.

"What?" Green snapped. He got off the wall and glared at her. "I wouldn't have done anything."

"Your eyes were going purple." Toni informed him.

"So? Whenever I go through my memories, they do that. Anyone who's ever seen that would agree- you too!"

"No, not that purple. I'm talking Poison Purple." Toni went on. "You know, the one that basically means you're about to lose your mind and kill everything in a fifty mile radius?"

Green stared at her in shock. " . . . Oh." was all he could say.

"Mm. I didn't think you'd want to go into that mode again." Toni shrugged. "So, I hit you."

 _"More like shoved him into the wall were you trying to make him actually go into the wall because with your abilities you could probably do that just go into Ghost Phase and then go out of it you'd be half in the wall and half out how cool would that be?"_ Sparkless giggled.

"Not very." Green muttered. " . . . Sorry."

"S'alright." Toni grinned. "At least I stopped you, right?"

"This time."

"Well if we're careful, there won't be a next time."

"That's a very big 'if'." Green told her.

Toni just shrugged again. That girl had absolutely no sense of danger at all . . .

 **oooo**

The Deviant was a Water type.

As well as being able to check if someone was a Deviant (even if that area was a bit weak for Green) he could also see what type they were, but it was a tricky thing- at least, for him it was.

Psychic Deviants who specialised in tracking unknown Deviants down were a hell of a lot better than he was at this, and they- when checking a Deviant for a type and subtype- could always tell straight off what type that Deviant was.

Green wasn't sure how it was for them, but all he got was a weird impression. For example, the mayor's son's impression was that of the sea, hence the Water typing. A dual-typed Deviant would have something like two different impressions, sometimes relating to each other and sometimes not.

Toni's was the digital thing, since that was her field of expertise (despite her being so good at blowing stuff up outside the digital world), so that was the impression Green got from her- along with the feeling of something not quite being there. Electric and Ghost.

He wasn't sure what his would be. Psychics were the more tricky kind of types, and because Ghost and Psychic types were practically pure opposites . . . well, he wasn't sure. Maybe something like the impression of being on another plane of existance, like the underworld or something.

They did have confirmation of one, after all.

You know. What with Kiara and some Dark/Steel Deviant both being partnered with a Darkrai. They could essentially visit said underworld whenever they wanted.

Anyway.

The Deviant- whose name was Sammy Right, and was the same age as Kai- was a Water type. He was also not very happy about the latest winners being three years younger than him, since he seemed to be under the impression that anyone younger than him was instantly retarded and childish.

Not that Green and Toni weren't childish, but they certainly weren't stupid.

He couldn't say the same for Red.

"So, Sammy, this is Tommy and this is Phoebe." Right introduced them. "They're twins and they're also the recent winners of the talent show- and very good, may I add. And this is Red and Blue, the-"

"Dad, I don't care." Sammy sighed, running a hand over his face and slumping back into his chair. "Whoever these freaks are-"

"Hey." Blue frowned.

"-I don't actually give a fu-"

"Language, they're just kids." Right barked over his son.

Green and Toni just barely kept the smiles off their faces.

'Just kids' their asses.

That basically set the mood for the rest of the so-called dinner ("Tea, it's called tea!" "Toni. Shut up."), so Green didn't feel particularly enthusiastic about trying to tell Sammy about his being a Deviant.

Right left him and Toni with Sammy, in some random room that was probably a living room but was covered with games and the latest laptops and stuff. Obviously this was Sammy's private . . . living room. Thing. Apparently Right wanted to have a chat with Red and Blue first, and Green still didn't know how either of them had gotten in.

"I saw your act on TV." Sammy muttered, fiddling with a laptop on his sofa. "If you're gonna do it again, don't bother. I like the _Luxray King_ as much as anyone else, but I don't wanna hear two kids and a Chatot doing a remake of _I Just Can't Wait To Be King_."

"Good, cus we're not gonna sing for you." Green told him.

Sammy looked up. Obviously he hadn't expected this.

"This is gonna sound insane so we'll just say it outright- my name isn't Tommy and her's isn't Phoebe, and we're not twins." Green went on.

"Hell, as far as we know, we ain't even related." Toni added with a sarcastic grin.

" . . . This is some sort of trick. My dad set this up." Sammy said.

"Nah, he didn't. Also another thing, we're technically not totally human. Just to be sure, you don't know what a Deviant is?" Toni checked.

"The word itself means something or someone that's different, or something along those lines." Sammy stood up, abandoning the laptop to give them his full attention. "But I get the feeling that you two mean something else entirely."

"Right in one." Green said. "Sit down, we might be here for a while."

It took them almost half an hour (plus several demonstrations from Green and Toni) to explain things properly, and amazingly, unlike the majority of people who found out they weren't quite human, Sammy took it surprisingly well.

Maybe it was his unmotivated personality.

Or maybe it was because, according to him, something exciting had finally happened and it was apparently the most amazing thing on the planet.

"It explains why I like spending more time in the water than out of it." Sammy explained, when Toni asked. "I mean, I just feel . . . right in the water. But I can't really make a living out of just doing water stuff for fun, so . . ."

"Well, there's the Olympics. Water sports. And stuff." Green shrugged. "You could try that, if you don't wanna come to the city?"

"As cool as an expy of Zion sounds, I'd rather stay here. If I just up and disappeared, there'd be an uproar. Not much of one, Violet city doesn't get noticed much, but there'd still be one nonetheless." Sammy shrugged and smiled for the first time since they'd come into the mansion. "And if I grow up and become the mayor like my dad plans, I could get stuff done- like maybe decreasing the crime rate, making or donating to existing charities, or making some indoor and outdoor pools for people to swim in."

"Arson, murder and jaywalking." Toni commented under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing." she said quickly.

Sammy looked at her suspiciously for a second before visibly deciding to ignore it and move on.

"Since you don't wanna go to the city, some of the Agents're gonna to come to you and teach you about the Deviant thing." Green told him. "Properly, that is."

"Why can't you two?" Sammy asked.

"Um, I'm Electric/Ghost and he's Psychic/Ghost. We're about as far from Water as anything." Toni laughed. "We'll see what we can do about getting Ashley onto the team that'll come though, she's our friend- and the actual owner of Chatot here."

 _"You're damn right she is."_ Chatot said.

"I guess this also explains why I can understand pokemon." Sammy mused. "Dad's always told me that I'm crazy, talking to creatures who can't talk back."

"Welcome to the one place where crazy is normal and normal is crazy." Green said.

"I think I'm gonna like it."

Ten to one the team that would come- with at least three Water typed Deviants and hopefully Ashley, if Green could pull the right strings (namely, getting Adrik to scare the Agents into letting her go with them)- would try and uproot Sammy forcibly. Green didn't mention that in case it made him freak and tell his dad.

One possible outcome from that would be that all three of them would be shipped to an aslyum, and another would be half the Agents in the city being arrested on kidnapping charges. And also possible manslaughter, sometimes Deviant extractions got . . . violent.

Hell, Green's own extraction was the one used for an example when probie Agents were being schooled on the extraction missions.

Hopefully Ashley could talk the Agents down from taking Sammy away from his dad.

She was very pursuasive, so Green didn't doubt that she couldn't do it.

There wasn't much else to do with the prize thing, and Green and Toni didn't find out why Red and Blue were there- because, according to Right, he and Toni had actually somehow managed to inspire Sammy.

Green was pretty sure 'inspire' was the wrong word, but whatever worked for him. So long as Sammy wasn't freaking out.

"I think this was a success, don't you?" Toni said as they walked out the next morning.

"Don't count your eggs until they've hatched." Green told her.

"Speaking of eggs, how's yours doing?"

Green blinked. He'd actually forgotten about it in all the excitement about the talent show.

He summoned it from hammer space and did a mental check for the Togepi inside.

"It's gonna hatch any day now." Green reported, smiling at the white egg, with all of it's strange red and blue triangles.

"Sweet!" Toni grinned. "Hey, can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Uh . . . well, yes, but that's just cheating. I wanna be surprised."

"Awesome!"

Unknown to the two of them, two people had just witnessed Green teleporting an egg out of seemingly nowhere.

Red and Blue watched the two smaller kids leave and looked at each other.

" . . . They're not normal, are they?" Red asked quietly.

"You already think Tommy isn't normal." Blue reminded him. "Unnatural, even."

"No, I mean . . . not that kind of unnatural. I mean, like, supernatural."

Blue shrugged. "Maybe they're like Sabrina."

"Maybe . . ."

Even though she dismissed it verbally, Blue was curious as well. Sabrina could teleport, yeah, but was she able to teleport objects like Tommy had done? She would never know, since Sabrina was a criminal and also currently in hiding somewhere.

But Blue somehow got the impression that what these two- and yes, if Tommy could do something like that, then she was suspecting Phoebe of the same thing- that those two kids weren't just normal psychics. Not that psychics were normal to begin with.

You get the point.

 **oooo**

Green decided to stay in Violet city until his egg hatched. For the team, and Toni, that basically meant they could use the extra time for training- and also, as Toni said, finding the Sprout Tower.

"I wanna go and find some Gastly." she said, when he asked why. "I'm half Ghost, maybe they could teach me some stuff. Then I could teach you whatever they teach me!"

 _"If she remembers half of it."_ Ice muttered to Nameless.

 _"If she doesn't, I can help her out."_ the Chikorita shrugged and wandered over to Toni, who picked him up and let him climb onto her shoulder.

"You just gonna stay here?" Toni asked Green, as she returned the rest of her pokemon- besides Sparkless of course- and made her way over to the door.

"I will- Ice is gonna show Twin and Amethyst around, try to . . . what was it?"

 _"Civilise them."_ Ice supplied.

"Yeah that."

"Mostly for Twin's benefit, am I right?" Toni giggled.

"Most likely, yep."

 _"I do not need to be civilised, I am royalty!"_ Twin cawed loudly.

 _"Yet you refuse to say what kind of royalty-"_

"Ain't there only one kind of royalty?" Toni whispered.

"Apparently not." Green whispered back.

 _"- and you also refuse to say why you're suddenly not living the dream, so you need civilisation. Besides, Amethyst wants to check out this place and I'm apparenlty the best guide since I'm not wild-born."_ Ice shrugged.

"He has a point." Green pointed out.

 _"What was that term Toni used? Oh yes, 'stick a sock in it'."_ Twin snapped back.

It was so weird hearing those words come out of someone sophisticated. Kind of.

Within a few minutes, Green was left alone with the Togepi egg. He climbed onto his bed and curled up, huddling it to his chest.

"You'll think we're all crazy, I'm sure." he whispered to it. "But we do care about each other. I thought Ice didn't, but he does- he's proved that, if only because he doesn't want to see the team be weak. Nameless I know is comitted, he's a pretty good pokemon. Usually Grass types are weak, or are portrayed as weak on the media, but he's gonna kill that stereotype, I can feel it. Twin's . . . weird, but then again, so is everyone else . . ."

He carried on talking to the egg, even as the hours went by. By the time Green had fallen sleep with the egg still cradled to his chest, the sun had long since set and the moon was casting gentle shadows from the window.

 _Crack._

Green woke up with a jolt when the door banged open loudly.

"HONEY I'M HOOOME!" Toni shouted.

"Oh my Mew, I was sleeping!" Green snapped.

"Ah-huh. Check this out, I found a new teammate!" Toni grinned, stepping aside- kind of unneccasarily- to let a surprisingly calm Gastly float into the room. "Green, meet Lifeless."

" . . . I'd say that name should be offensive, but . . ." Green shrugged.

 _"I don't mind."_ the Ghost/Poison type said gently. _"So, which of your team is this? Ice, Twin or Amethyst?"_

" . . . What's he on about?" Green asked, looking at Toni.

She grinned even wider and pointed at his chest.

Green looked down.

The Togepi smiled when they locked eyes and giggled at him- and then spoke. _"Hi Mama!"_ he cried.

" . . . Hi." Green eventually managed, sitting up slowly. "When did you hatch?"

 _"Dunno, I can't see what the tick tock says."_ the Togepi giggled.

 _"That is single most adorable thing I have seen in my entire life. And I've got baby siblings."_ a Furret cooed, walking into the room after Toni.

"Hopeless evolved too." Toni explained. "Long story short, there are now twenty fewer Rattatas in Sprout Tower. And several more burn marks on the walls."

"That makes no sense at all and I'm not gonna ask for details." Green said, distracted.

He was interested in the Togepi in his arms, who was now cuddling him happily. This was a hell of a lot different from Tiago's hatching.

For one thing, Tiago hadn't called him 'Mama'.

But it felt nice. Green probably should have been offended, since he was male, but hey, whatever. The little Togepi was adorable.

And smart too.

. . . There was a character from _Pokemon Underground_ who was basically what most would call a 'child genius'. He was actually a Joltik, adopted into Team Web when his parents were killed- and was called Tick because he clung to the other team members. Emotionally, that is.

Physically he didn't really need to, he could keep up with them in terms of actual movement and power.

The little Togepi had said something about a 'tick tock'. He probably meant the clock- the sound that it made, anyway. Clearly he was fascinated by it.

And that was how Green's Togepi, who called him Mama and was adorable as hell, was given the name Tick Tock- or just Tick for short.

It was also probably a good thing that he didn't ask for the details, because Hopeless the newly evolved Furret was now proudly sporting a scar that had been a giant gash running from the corner of her left eye all the way down to the base of her tail.

Jirachi fucking Christ, how violent had the fight gotten?

"You're lucky I can heal anything." Green huffed, running his hands gently over the now-healed gash. "Congrats, you've now got one hell of a scar."

 _"I'm cool with that."_ Hopeless shrugged.

" . . . You're hopeless. No pun intended." Green sighed. "Way to lax about this stuff."

The Furret just shrugged again.

 _"Auntie Hopeless is cool!"_ Tick giggled.

"She might be cool, but please don't follow her example." Green said, picking up the little baby. "In fact, if you could be the normalest being on this team, I would be so happy."

Toni looked slightly hurt. "I'm normal!" she huffed.

 _"From what I've seen so far . . . that is not true."_ Lifeless replied, with a small smile.

"Yeah, I'll give you that one." Toni agreed, after a slight pause.

The rest of Green's team came back eventually, and were understandably surprised at the three new-ish members of their weirdo team. Tick, they weren't so shocked by- his hatching had been coming for a while now. Hopeless, a little unexpected but welcome.

Lifeless was the only one who shocked the three of them completely, but he was fine with that- apparently not many people liked having Gastlys on their teams for some reason.

Green couldn't imagine why. Sure, most Ghost types were pranksters, but Lifeless was pretty much the opposite of that.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: I'm hopefully setting up the thing with Red and Blue- who, yes, will eventually find out about Deviants and everything. Not sure how ominous an egg appearing out of nowhere is, but I get the impression that psychics in the manga world aren't as powerful as pokemon Psychics, so they can only really manage the small-ish stuff.

Green: I wouldn't call being able to teleport themself and read minds small stuff.

Renny: I said 'small-ish', didn't I?

Green: Like it makes any difference.

Renny: Whatever. What did everyone think? I hope it was good- also, yeah, pokemon has it's own in-universe adaptions of movies. _Luxray King_ is one of them.

Green: Ideas stolen from other people no doubt.

Renny: Good artists are inspired, great artists steal.

Green: In this case, you're a writer.

Renny: Same difference. Read and review!


	6. Chapter 6- Attack

Renny: For those who have read _Redemption_ , Green isn't terrified of Ghosts. Mainly because he is, technically, one himself- and also Toni's one, and Sparkless is one . . . etc. It wouldn't make much sense for him to be terrified of something he's literally around every second of the day.

Green: Didn't Arrow ask this first?

Renny: I was already planning on explaining it, so this is probably for the best. Those readers who appear to be hiding in the shadows who may or may not have read _Redemption_ , well, they don't or won't ask.

Green: You have a point. Is that it for now?

Renny: Hopefully I won't think of anything in the middle of writing the chapter, because I'll forget it by the time I get around to the AN at the bottom of this.

Green: You always write the AN first and then the chapter. That's probably why you're always shocked when you finish writing, you realise?

Renny: I see no problem. I never plan these things, I just write. Mostly. Disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon!

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

Some Togepi could learn a powerful Psychic attack called Extrasensory. Because most considered Psychic or Psystrike or whatever to be the most powerful, they often overlooked Extrasensory in the process.

Which was great, because it meant Green could get away with teaching a baby Togepi how to use one of the most powerful Psychic attacks known to Deviants and pokemon.

"Okay, so once you've got the basics down, you should be able to produce a weak Confusion." Green explained, watching Tick try to levitate a small pebble.

They were starting small. It wasn't like Tick _couldn't_ learn Confusion after all, so he was starting with that- then he'd move onto Extrasensory, and after that, all kinds of Psychic attacks. Or defensive moves . . . or healing moves.

Now that he thought about it, Green could teach Tick all sorts of Psychic moves.

 _"Like this, Mama?"_ Tick asked.

His eyes glowed softly, a gentle pink that was a hell of a lot different to the purple colour that sometimes took over Green's eyes. The pebble in front of him glowed with the same aura, and then it lifted a few centimetres off the ground.

It stayed off the ground for a couple of seconds, then wobbled and lost the aura, falling back onto the ground.

"Perfect!" Green exclaimed. "For a three day old pokemon, you're really good at this."

Tick beamed at him.

 _"If you're done braiding each other's hair, we're moving on."_ Ice called. _"We'd like to get through Union Cave at some point, please. And leave the pebble, I'm sick of being hit in the back of the head."_

"Okay, okay, we're coming . . ." Green grumbled, standing up. He picked up Tick and, after a second, grabbed the little pebble and put it in his pocket- putting a finger to his lips to Tick as he did so.

"Green come on!" Toni yelled.

"Jirachi Christ, wait up will you?"

For some clarity, they'd moved on from Violet city. Well, there was no reason to stay there now that the first Deviant had been found- and not to mention it was basically a total success, as Toni had said.

Now they were heading for Union Cave, which would take them through a shortcut (as Zo, who had been to Johto a few times before, said) to Azalea town, and to the next Deviants.

Things were already gonna be different, since there were two Deviants in Azalea. Hopefully neither of them would be the son or daughter of someone as important as Right, the mayor of Violet city. Then again, with Green's horrible luck, they'd probably be fucking princes or something.

And let's not forget that they did stop occasionally to train. Tick in particular was loving the training, since it meant he got to learn what his Mama knew- and Green was enjoying that because, finally, there was another Psychic.

Well. Sort of. Tick was technically a Fairy type, so he wasn't Psychic. But whatever, Green could name at least ten different pokemon and Deviants who learned attacks that they technically weren't supposed to.

So there.

Logic. Who needed it really?

He was also training himself in telepathy. So far, he could give short messages- but sometimes that wasn't enough during battles, so instead Green sent images to his pokemon. Toni was trying to help out with the human aspect of it, in case the need arose or they got seperated or something and their pokemon weren't with them . . . you get the point.

They also avoided the pokemon centre- just in case they got recognised as the winners of the talent show. No one was sure if it was just a local thing or if it had been broadcasted all over the region, so they had to be careful for a bit.

A few hours later, after walking and resting (as per just about half the team's moaning), they got somewhat closer to Union Cave. At least according to the map anyway.

"Hey, you two!" someone shouted.

For a second, Green was terrified they'd been recognised. Then he saw two teenagers making their way over the bridge, and a Goldeen and a Wooper swimming alongside in the water.

Oh, okay then.

"Wanna battle?" the one who'd shouted- a boy with blond, messy hair- asked as they got closer. His friend, another boy with shoulder-length, curly brown hair glanced at their Water pokemon to make sure they were still following.

Toni glanced at Green with a grin.

" . . . We're not going anywhere." he sighed.

"Yes!" Toni hissed, punching the air.

Several minutes later, they found a spot along the river that wasn't unstable (the mud in Route 32 was slippery as hell). It was also fine because apparently the two older Trainers- whose names were Micky and Nico respectively- wanted to try battling their 'starters'.

Nothing was said about the pseudo-Legendary Rotom hovering around Toni. Or Tick, actually.

The battle began kind of explosively. Well, as explosively as three Water types and a Grass type could get anyway.

Ice fired off a Water Gun at the Goldeen, since the Wooper had Water Absorb and- as far as they knew- the Goldeen didn't. He dodged, going underwater so the Water Gun sort of evaporated into the water.

Nameless shot a few Razor Leaves at the Wooper, who retalliated with a Water Gun off his own- shooting down the Leaves easily.

Well, at least this wasn't gonna be a boring battle.

"Water Pulse!" Micky, the Trainer of the Wooper, called.

"Get in the water!" Green shouted.

"I thought you were trying your telepathy thingy?" Toni whispered.

"It's a reflex, okay?" he hissed back.

There was a low splash and then a bigger one as Ice jumped into the river, and then the Water Pulse hit the surface after him.

"Don't look like you got much choice now, he can't hear you underwater." Toni commented.

"Shut up and take out the Wooper, will you?"

"Fine, whatever."

It looked like Micky and Nico had had a small discussion as well, but with less arguing and more agreeing- Wooper shot off a few Mud Bombs at Nameless, and Goldeen swam after Ice, who was still somewhere under the water.

Green only knew he was swimming along the riverbed because of the telepathy thing, even if he could only _feel_ where Ice was. He couldn't get the exact position- he could only get small impressions and feelings from Ice.

While Toni switched tactics to deal with the Wooper, Green concentrated and tried to send an image or something to Ice.

The actual communication part of telepathy (that is, using words and such) was difficult, so for now Green was practising with sending images. It was only a one-way thing and half the time the images where misunderstood (considering that Toni was the one he was mostly practising with, that was a given), but with pokemon attacks it was easier since he could just sent an image of the attack he wanted.

Unfortuntely it meant that he couldn't teach a new move in the middle of a battle or something like that, but whatever. That was why he was practising. To get to the point where he could use words easily on both pokemon and humans.

He sent an image of a Scratch attack to Ice.

Green knew it had worked because, five seconds later, the Goldeen came shooting up to the surface and was trying to swim away from Ice.

Who was basically acting like a ballistic Totodile, so Goldeen couldn't be blamed.

Why was every pokemon Green had so freaking insane?

Eh, wasn't like he was much better. At least they weren't boring.

. . . Right?

Wooper was under fire (figuratively) from Nameless's many Razor Leaves- which weren't particularly accurate at the moment, but they were working on that. Moving targets (as in, Twin and Faceless because they were Flying types and therefore not bothered about the Leaves) were better than stationary ones for that exact reason.

And then, in the water, something started shining.

Everyone stopped whatever they were doing (which wasn't much) and watched with wide eyes.

"How close to evolving is Ice?" Toni asked, leaning over to Green.

" . . . I . . . have no idea." Green admitted. "I generally don't keep track. But what if it's the Goldeen?"

"Don't jinx it!" Toni cried.

The shining died down and then Ice was flung into the air- and a Seaking followed, shooting off an incredibly powerful Water Pulse to push Ice onto the riverbank.

Toni sighed. "Now we gotta deal with a fully evolved Seaking of all things."

"At least the Wooper hasn't evolved." Green shrugged.

Nameless landed in front of them, and looked up.

 _"Quagsire."_ he corrected them weakly. _"I think you mean . . . Quagsire."_

" . . . You had to say it." Toni growled, glaring at Green.

He held up his hands in surrender. "I can't help it!" Green exclaimed. "Things just evolve when I say they won't . . ."

 _"Mind doing that for us!?"_ Ice shouted, dodging a Water Gun.

"Well it ain't gonna work now, is it?" Toni snapped. "It only works when he isn't paying attention."

 _"Perfect!"_

"Alright, we got this in the bag!" Micky exclaimed happily. "Quagsire, finish it! Mud Bomb!"

"Seaking, use Water Pulse!" Nico called.

Green and Toni cried out as both attacks hit- and, somehow, created some sort of mist that looked kind of more or less like explosion smoke. Okay, didn't explosions like that just happen on TV? Pokemon, seriosly . . .

"First Trainer battle in Johto, and we lose." Toni muttered, crossing her arms moodily.

"We can't win every time. This isn't a game, you know." Green scolded her.

"No, it's not. It's a fanfic."

" . . . What?"

Toni looked shifty. "Nothing." she said.

 _"This isn't over yet, kiddos!"_

 _"Who said we were gonna let these guys win?"_

"Ice?" Green looked into the smoke/mist. It was clearing up, and he could just about make out two small shapes.

"Holy hell, they're still up?" Toni shouted. A grin practically split her face in half.

 _"Damn straight we are!"_ Nameless shouted back. _"And we're_ not _gonna lose our first battle!"_

The smoke lit up as the two pokemon started to glow. Some of it was burned away by the light (evolution energy was actually quite hot, or something along those lines) but most of it just helped to make the moment more dramatic.

Again, something that only happened on TV. Were he and Toni suddenly in a TV programme or something?

"Are they evolving." Toni said. "Are they _actually_ \- but you didn't even say anything!"

"I don't need to say 'insert name of pokemon here hasn't evolved' just to get something to evolve every single time we need something to evolve, you know." Green retorted. He paused. "That was confusing to say."

"Confusing to understand, too." Toni agreed.

The smoke started to twist as the twin glows died down, and then it was whipped away entirely- Nameless's twisting of his now-larger leaf showing how it had been whipped away.

"This. Is. Awesome." Toni breathed.

Green could only nod, shocked to silence.

Ice glanced back at the two of them and grinned toothily, showing off his new, sharp and many many teeth. Then he turned back to the two pokemon opposite, and _roared._

Quagsire and Seaking stepped or floated back, looking more and more like they wanted to surrender.

Nameless's leaf glowed a strange purpley-black colour, and then he tossed it- and several glowing leaves were shot at Quagsire and Seaking, who couldn't dodge because the leaves basically followed them somehow.

Magical Leaf.

Holy hell, Toni was right- this _was_ awesome!

"That was the best battle I've ever had!" Nico exclaimed, some time later.

"Mostly because you saved us a lot of time with our pokemon." Micky grinned.

"And you're sure that was your first Trainer battle?" Nico went on. He shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah, I'm totally not buying that."

"Beginners luck?" Green shrugged. "We've only really battled wild pokemon or each other before, so . . . I dunno."

The older Trainers glanced around the make-shift campsite, at all the pokemon that Green and Toni had- and the two that they had in comparison.

"Well, you've certainly been busy." Micky said. "You've even got a Rotom and a Togepi! Do you know how rare the two of them are?"

"Yep!" Toni said.

 _Not really,_ Green thought. Not when Elm apparently had a regular supply of Togepi eggs. Oh well, maybe it was rare that one hatched? And Rotom were fairly common in their line of work . . .

"And all of this in just under two weeks . . . sheesh, you two are amazing." Micky sighed. "And here we are, with a Quagsire and a Seaking between us! No offence, guys."

The two Water types didn't look that offended, really.

They said bye to the two older Trainers a few minutes later. Micky and Nico were apparently going up to Violet city, intending to try out the Gym challenge- but they'd been put off originally by the whole 'it's all on TV now' thing, so they were going to try and ask for private battles instead.

And with two fully evolved pokemon, they were probably gonna be totally fine. Probably.

Nico gave Green and Toni directions to the shortest route to get to Union Cave too, so in return Green told them the quickest way to Violet city. Helping hands all around.

 **oooo**

Nothing much happened in the main part of Union Cave. Well, except that Twin descovered she hated Zubats, but other than that, nothing happened ( _"I would not call those fiendish vermin 'nothing'!" "Let it go already." "Never!"_ ).

Turned out having Amethyst out for training was a good idea though, because several of the local Geodudes showed them a shortcut through the cave.

 _"Onix normally use this path,"_ the oldest Geodude explained. _"But sometimes there are, I guess you could say, 'slow days' in which they just sleep for a long while. You're lucky you came in today."_

 _"I'll say."_ Hopeless muttered, looking at the size of the tunnels they were walking in.

Let's just say several Aggron would be able to stand together comfortably and leave it at that.

 _"So, how does it work? Being a caught pokemon?"_ a Geodude asked Amethyst.

 _"It's actually really interesting, see . . ."_ Amethyst started explaining the concept of combo attacks and such to the wild Geodude.

"If we didn't already have a Rock type, I'd go looking for one of these massive Onix." Toni commented, poking at some moss that was growing out of a muddy crack in the wall.

"Um . . . You _do_ realise we both have a Pidgey, right?" Green asked her, confused. "So that statement makes no sense at all."

"Shut up."

He was tempted to say something else, but then they came up to a couple of other tunnels branching off from the one they were going down now.

The oldest Geodude raised a hand and pointed down the left tunnel.

 _"That's the way out. Just follow the tunnel until you come to a large fissure-like crack in the wall, and then go through that. It'll take you back to the main cave system which other Trainers normally use, but you'll be right next to the Azalea exit."_ she said.

"Great!" Toni exclaimed happily. "Hey, thanks for helping us out."

 _"Thanks for not catching us!"_ one of the younger Geodudes replied.

So, yeah, overall the whole thing only took them like an hour or two when it normally took others (who used the normal cave routes) about half a day.

They basically cheated. But whatever, who cares? It got them through without wasting fucking massive amounts of time, after all.

The fissure-like crack did actually _look_ like a fissure, so much that Green wondered if it had been a natural occurance or if a pokemon had done something like an incredibly strong Magnitude or even an Earthquake. You know, in a battle or something along those lines.

And now he was wondering whether or not anyone else knew about this shortcut.

But considering that they came out into a shady part of the main cave system, his guess was probably no, no other human being knew about the shortcut but him and Toni.

"I think I've decided- caves are awesome." Toni said, a couple of minutes after they got out.

 _"I disagree. Greatly."_ Twin growled.

 _"Lighten up, it was a good oppertunity to train!"_ Faceless squawked.

 _"That is your opinion. Not mine."_

"And my opinion is for you two stop fighting over nothing, so hush." Green broke in before feathers could start flying. "Twin, just because the Zubat kept attacking you doesn't mean you can make it out like the entire cave was rigged for you to hate."

Twin stared at him for a second, and then narrowed her eyes. She flew up and hovered just in front of his face. _"That may be right,"_ she said softly. _"But kindly explain why the Zubat only targeted myself. Not one of you were attacked."_

 _"Blood type?"_ Ice suggested. _"I think yours would be A positive. You know. 'A' for asshole."_

 _"Come here and say that, you uncouth, sharp-toothed behemoth!"_

 _"The hell did you say, chicken-dinner?"_

"I could have sworn they got along somehow." Green muttered.

 _"Mama, what does 'behemoth' mean?"_ Tick asked, shifting in Green's arms to look up at him.

"Something that's big or monstrous. In this case I think she means both, he's massive compared to her." Green explained.

 _"Can I use that word?"_

"So long as it's not as an insult. Don't let Uncle Ice set the bar for you."

 _"Okay, Mama!"_ Tick giggled, swinging his arms round happily.

"I was gonna take the piss for him calling you 'mama', but then I realised it made perfect sense." Toni grinned.

"You don't speak." Green snapped.

 _"Hey guys I see a person wait a second is that Red oh no it's Red but hey Blue's here too sweet she's nice isn't she nice yeah she's nice HEY GREEN IF YOU WEREN'T GAY YOU'D TAP THAT RIGHT-"_

 _"For a minute I actually forgot he existed."_ Ice muttered, abandoning his growing argument with Twin.

"Sparkless. Please. Silent mode." Toni hissed, as Red and Blue came over to them.

Blue, sure, Green didn't mind. Like Sparkless said, he might have liked her if he was into girls. And she was nice, even if a little eccentric- then again, with _their_ weirdness, anyone would seem normal in comparison. Even Blue.

But of course, you already know how he felt about Red. Fucking asshat.

"Hey you two!" Blue greeted, once she and Red were close enough. She glanced at all their pokemon, and then took a slightly rigid step back when she saw Twin and Faceless. " . . . I see you like crowds, then . . ."

Maybe she was weirder than them. Wait a second.

Was she _scared_ of birds?

Green concentrated and got a small flash of an old tower and a giant bird. A scream of a little girl, filled with terror- was that Blue, maybe?

Darkness . . . fear . . . a giant bird, screaming fearsomely. Well, anyone would get a phobia after something like that.

So why hadn't she been scared when they'd met in Violet city? Both times Green had had a bird of some kind on his person (Twin on his head, Chatot on his arm). But maybe she could deal with just one bird. Any more and she'd panic, maybe.

What? He was practising, but that didn't mean he was gonna get better at the telepathy and mind reading thing in three days. He couldn't exactly get someone's life story just yet (despite what he'd told Ice, that was hard too- but again, he was practising).

"Well, it wouldn't do much good if we just kept one or two pokemon out- that's only for cities and shit." Toni shrugged.

Now that Green thought about it, he and Toni nearly had the same amount of pokemon (not counting Sparkless, technically). But he hadn't actually noticed how much of a crowd they had with them somehow. Maybe he was getting too used to it.

"Where'd you get the Togepi from?" Red asked. In Green's opinion, he sounded slightly jealous.

"He hatched from an egg Pro- I mean, some guy gave me." Green explained. "I think it was cus I helped him with his Goldeen?"

"Yeah, and then Tick hatched like a day later." Toni giggled. "Logic, am I right?"

"Well, his egg _was_ pretty warm to begin with . . ."

"Okay, I get it, some random dude gave you an egg and it hatched into a rare pokemon, congrats." Red snapped. He lowered his voice, but Green still heard anyway. " _Freak_."

"I'm not _deaf_ , you-" he began, only to be shoved by Toni.

"What'd I say?" she hissed, as Blue pulled Red back and started whispering to him as well. "Next time we see him-"

"-try and be civil, I know." Green muttered. He glared at Red's back. "But he started it."

 _"And here I thought you were the mature one."_ Ice scoffed.

"There's a difference between more mature than she is and actually _being_ mature." Green told him.

"Hey." Toni said, looking slightly offended.

 _"It_ is _true, though."_ Nameless pointed out. _"You're both incredibly immature, but he's more mature than you are. It's not a bad thing though."_

"Yeah I'll give you that one."

Blue came back over, with Red glowering at the lot of them.

"Okay so, we've come to an agreement." Blue began. "Red won't make any indecent comments, and you won't rise to anything that slips out."

"No promises." Green replied.

"Why should I try when he doesn't even bother?" Red barked.

"Because you're the one who starts it, dummy!" Blue snapped back, hitting him on the head.

 _"He is?"_ Faceless asked.

 _"You didn't notice? Green's gone nuts the last two times we've met this joker, but only after he's made some stupid comment."_ Hopeless explained.

 _"Mama, why don't you like him?"_ Tick asked.

Green nearly replied, but then he remembered- incognito. Wouldn't be undercover if he was talking to a creature he was supposed to not be able to understand.

Ugh. Sometimes he hated undercover missions. They were fun, sure, but it was the whole 'you need to pretend you can't hear everything those pokemon are saying, so stop laughing at the argument about pies and do your Arceus-dammed job' thing he wasn't so keen on.

Instead, he sent a small portion of the memory from when they first met Red to the little pokemon. Even with that small bit, Tick didn't look too impressed with Red.

 _"He's a behemoth."_ Tick muttered, crossing his tiny arms.

"I told you like five minutes ago, no using that word as an insult!" Green scolded him.

There was a pause.

He glanced up and saw Red and Blue watching him, looking more startled than confused. Green sighed and pulled a hand over his face.

So much for incognito.

"You talking to me?" Red wondered, pointing at himself. "Because I don't remember you saying anything to me."

Okay, maybe not.

"Actually he was on about me." Toni spoke up with a laugh. "I said a word, he said not to use it, and I said it again just now. Describing you, of course. In the worst terms possible. Because you're a dick. Obviously."

"Oh really." Red said flatly.

"Yes and it's a very bad word so please _never say it again_." Green quickly said.

 _Thanks,_ he told her, hoping it would work properly. Last time it had done, but only with a lot of concentration- this time was basically short notice.

Toni's grin said she heard it.

 _"It's like watching a soap."_ Ice commented from the side.

 _"Why would you wish to watch an item which humans use for cleanliness?"_ Twin demanded.

 _" . . . Remind me to explain the concept of television to you."_

Pfff.

"So, how's it going for you two then?" Blue asked, obviously trying to be the civil person here.

She'd be the only one then.

"Well, as you can see, G- Tommy now has nearly as many pokemon as I do." Toni grinned smugly.

"Oh shut up, you're a pokemon magnet." Green snapped at her.

"You jelly mate?"

"Of you? No. Of your team? Perhaps."

"He's totally jelly of me." Toni told Blue, who giggled.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't like my team." she said. "I have a Blastoise."

Green stared at her. "You- you have a _what_?" he demanded. "But how!?"

"Well, we trained. Blasty evolved." Blue shrugged.

But . . . how? How did she manage to get a Blastoise in, like, two weeks?

In fact, where did she even get a _Squirtle_ from? Last Green heard, Squirtle weren't the most popular of starter pokemon, especially after that stupid documentary thing centred on them and their evolutionary forms a couple of months ago.

Did she bribe someone for it?

It was entirely possible. Weirder things had happened.

He was about to ask where she'd gotten one from- just so he could see if it was legal or not, you never know, it might be like an Eevee Ring- when the ground exploded ten feet away from them.

Green reacted instinctively.

He threw up a Psychic shield to stop any debris from hitting them, and then extended the shield to cover all directions (yes, even underground).

Something else- or maybe the same thing- started spewing out a thick Haze to cover the entire place. Pretty soon they were basically blind, and the only light came from the glowing shield around them.

"Wow . . ." Blue muttered.

Then he realised what he'd done. Shit.

"That little Togepi must be one of those Psychic ones, right?" she went on.

 _I need to stop giving myself heart attacks, seriously,_ Green sighed.

"Um, yeah, he is. Didn't know he was this powerful though." Green said, dropping his hand and hoping that no one but the pokemon and Toni saw what really happened. So basically everyone but Red and Blue.

 _"What?"_ Lifeless frowned. _"Why is he-"_

 _"They don't know about the Deviant thing."_ Ice explained, despite the fact that he was still slightly skeptical himself. _"So they have to lie sometimes."_

'Sometimes'. Try 'all the time'.

"Who did that?" Red shouted through the Psychic shield.

"Are you crazy don't give them another reason to attack us!" Toni hissed, hitting him.

And then they heard a strange voice, hissing almost like it was deranged or something.

 _"Maaaster sayssss . . . Maaaaster sayssssss . . . KILLLLLLL . . ."_

"What." Blue said. "What in Mew's _fluffy pink ass_ was that?"

 _"Sounds like an Arbok."_ Nameless whispered. _"Everyone keep quiet."_

"Arbok. Zip it." Toni relayed.

Paraphrasing. You gotta love it.

 _"KILLLLL . . . or captuuuuure . . ."_

"I'd prefer capture." Green muttered to himself. He raised his voice so everyone in the shield could hear him. "We need to move slow. This thing- the Arbok- it sounds like it's mental."

"How do you know?" Red demanded. "You some sort of pokemon whisperer or what?"

 _Yes._ "No, but I know what a normal Arbok sounds like and this sounds completely deranged, so we need to be careful to not piss it off. Think you can manage that, homophobe?" Green snapped back.

Red bristled, but Blue shoved his head into the grass and nodded for both of them.

"We'll have to return everyone." Toni whispered, as the hissing voice got closer while it searched through the fog it had created.

Green agreed completely. He and Toni quickly set about returning every one of their pokemon, but Toni left out Sparkless and Green- who knew it was probably a bad idea- left Tick out as well.

Red and Blue appeared to think the same thing.

"Why aren't you returning him?" Red whispered harshly. "You said he hatched like two or three days ago, right?"

Green couldn't answer him. He had no clue why he'd left Tick out.

Maybe because of the terrified look he was getting from the baby, who was cowering into his chest. He couldn't just put Tick away like discarded rubbish, to deal with him whenever this was over- that was just dumb.

And besides, some small part of Green knew that Tick would have to get used to this sort of thing.

Coddling him wasn't going to help.

Oh, so he did have a reason. Nevermind then.

 _"M-Mama, I'm scared."_ Tick whispered, high-pitched.

"It's okay, don't worry." Green gently said, glad that he didn't need to directly reply to comfort the baby Togepi. "It's probably just some wild pokemon . . ."

Even though he didn't believe that himself. The Arbok was still hissing, and he could hear the occasional 'Maaaaster saysss . . .' followed by 'KILLL' or 'capture'.

"T- Phoebe." Green whispered, as the hissing got closer. Ugh, the shield must be some sort of beacon. If only he could figure out how to make it not glow. "Get Sparkless to shoot off somewhere. Make a lot of noise."

"Distraction?" Toni checked.

"Yeah."

Toni nodded and whispered to Sparkless, no doubt giving him full authority to unleash Thunder Beam (or anything he had that was more powerful) just in case things went to hell. Uh, again.

Sparkless, for once not yammering on and on, nodded. Green shifted Tick in his arms, making it look like he was whispering to get the baby to let a part of the shield down for Sparkless.

"We're gonna be fine, don't worry." Green whispered instead, twitching his hand slightly.

Part of the shield caved in and instantly some of the Haze was sucked in, but when Green closed it up a second later only a little bit had gotten in.

Sparkless was nowhere to be seen.

 _"EAT THUNDERBOLT YOU SLIMLY SLITHERING SNAKEY WAKEY FREAAAAAAAAK!"_

 _BZZZZP-_ _ **BANG**_ _._

Bits of the attack lit up the Haze fog, like some sort of nightmare-ish world.

 _"THIS IS FULLY AWESOME WOOOOOHOOHOOOOO!"_

"Well, at least he's dedicated." Toni said, in reply to Red and Blue's stunned faces.

"You two aren't normal at all, are you?" Red asked. For once he didn't seem to be insulting them, he was just genuinely asking.

Blue hit him again and whispered something Green didn't hear to him. Something about 'quiet'? Keeping something quiet?

Then the Arbok hit the side of the shield and he had other things to worry about.

"Holy crap throw it off _throw it off_!" Toni shrieked, flailing around wildly.

"Well, if it didn't know we were here before, it certainly knows now." Blue sighed.

"Welcome to my world." Green told her.

He shifted the shield slightly, and the Arbok was flung off- back into what looked like a giant, dark yellow cloud. They really probably should have let Sparkless loose a little.

Oh well. He could do what he wanted now, so it didn't matter.

"We should make a break for it, like, now!" Red exclaimed, after a couple more Thunderbolts and a Shock Wave lit up the Haze.

"Alright, alright." Green sighed. He let down the shield, and they were all blinded by the Haze. "Oh, nice one, genius."

"Maybe we should have kept the shield up." Toni suggested.

"Bit late now, c'mon you two!" Blue hissed.

She grabbed Green's arm, and presumably Toni's as well, and they all ran in the opposite direction to Sparkless's attacks.

Less than a minute later, the small group was out of the Haze. They kept going though, just in case, and only stopped when the maniacal laughter (Sparkless, who else?) was faint.

"That . . . was . . . insane . . ." Red panted, leaning up against a tree.

"No shit . . ." Toni coughed. She'd basically just given up trying to lean against a tree and was lying sprawled on the ground.

"Some power." Blue whistled, once she'd gotten her breath back- or most of it, anyway. "That Togepi's . . . something, eh?"

"Yup." Green muttered.

Well, he was _going_ to be something. For the moment, Tick would need to make do with Confusion and Reflect and whatever.

 _"Mama . . .?"_

"It's over." Green told Tick, looking down. Tick was still clutching his shirt tightly. "No need to worry now, alright?"

 _"No, not that . . ."_ Tick squeaked, and then went quiet.

"Um, you might wanna look up, Tommy." Blue said. She sounded like she was worried, but was trying to hide it. And was failing.

Green looked up.

"Oh, balls." he sighed.

They were surrounded by a hell of a lot of people- all of them wearing the same outfit, or something fitting the same theme.

Knights.

Well, at least they'd found the organisation of potential terrorists.

 **oooo**

"Nice going." Red muttered, as they were marched into Azalea town- which was apparently under the organisation's control. "Run away, right into their trap. Nice plan, _genius_."

They'd also been tied up, and Tick had been forced into some sort of glass ball that looked flimsy. But it wasn't, or else they wouldn't have used it. Joy.

"How was I meant to know this was gonna happen?" Green hissed back, wishing he could fry Red's brain. Or whatever was in place of it. "I can't use Future Sight."

Not to see the actual future, anyway. Using it to attack, on the other hand . . .

"Will you two cut it out?" Blue snapped.

"Silence!" one of the knights barked.

Something hard hit Green in the back, and he stumbled and nearly fell over. A pained grunt told him that Red had been hit too.

He risked a glance back for a second and saw what he'd been hit with. Some sort of sword maybe? It looked vaguely like a Honedge, but Green did a quick scan, and it wasn't alive. So, it was just an imitation then.

What would a terrorist need with an old-fashioned sword designed after a Honedge?

At least he hadn't been hit with the metal edge of it. Judging from the fact that he wasn't bleeding to death, he and Red had been hit with the hilt of the swords. Considerate.

But that also meant these people didn't want to kill them.

Maybe use them as hostages? It was unlikely that they knew about Green and Toni.

This was giving him a headache.

"Any ideas?" Toni whispered.

"Wait for Sparkless?" Green suggested. "It's our best bet right now."

"Provided he hasn't gone nuts over the Arbok." Toni muttered.

"Hey, he's _your_ partner- have some faith in him." Green rolled his eyes when she failed to look impressed. "Look, why don't you just see-"

"I said, _silence_!" the same knight shouted.

This time he hit Green in the head, and he actually _did_ fall over.

And his head was fuzzy, too. Great.

"Hey!" he heard Toni snap. "Watch it, you might kill him!"

"Might be better off if we do, your friend won't take a fucking hint!"

"Calm down." another knight said. "We'll get these kids to the pokemon centre and find the boss. Don't kill them, no matter how annoying they are- ghk!"

Green smirked.

The knight who'd been talking had tripped over seemingly nothing, but of course, Green wasn't so knocked out that he couldn't trip someone over.

Toni knelt down beside him and he saw her smirking as well.

"Nice, but try and keep a lid on it for a bit." she told him.

"This coming . . . from you?" he mumbled. Was he slurring? He sounded drunk.

"I know. But seriously."

"Yah . . . got it." Green agreed. "No tripping anyone."

Toni nodded and helped him up. Green stumbled slightly, mostly only for show because already he was healing himself (not that anyone but Toni would know), and he caught Red and Blue watching.

He was surprised at how worried Red looked.

"What?" he muttered, just for show.

"You must have a really, really hard head." Blue muttered.

"Either that or he's just stubborn." Red added.

"Pro'lly both." Green shrugged.

"Well, don't overdo it, weirdo." Toni whispered.

He snickered.

By the time the knights had actually gotten them to the pokemon centre, Green was pretty much fully healed. He still kept up the injured act though.

They were put in some storage room in the back with all the other hostages, though it looked like this wasn't all of them- Azalea town wasn't that big, but the people in the storage room only seemed to include about a third of them.

So, first things first.

Get these people out. Then find the others and do the same for them.

Preferably without the terrorists knowing, because that way Green and Toni could try and sneak around and find out all they could.

He was able to manipulate a small psychic field to cover him and Toni up, so they'd be invisible for a small amount of time. It would only last a minute or so, but it should be enough.

But their first priority would be the hostages though. If they didn't find out what the knights were doing, it didn't matter. That was basically just a bonus.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: This one was kinda hard for me to write- mainly because I couldn't decide how I wanted Ice and Nameless to evolve. Eventually I just decided to go with the random Trainer encounter thing, which incidently is actually Green and Toni's first Trainer battle in Johto.

Green: Obviously it isn't their literal first.

Renny: Obviously.

Green: You got any comments about the rest of the chapter, or do we end this right now, because I'm bored as hell.

Renny: Me too, but I feel like I should point this out- for anyone who doesn't understand why Green's surprised that Blue has a Blastoise, well . . . it's a plot. A slightly minor one, mostly for a gag (possibly running gag, considering how many times it's almost been revealed in the last two or three chapters alone). But it's a plot anyway. So no asking why in the hell Green doesn't get why Blue has a Blastoise.

Green: Anything else *yawns*?

Renny: . . . Not that I'm aware of? Other than, well, get ready for next chapter because I plan for it to be awesome. Well, in my terms anyway. Read and review! Please.


	7. Chapter 7- Murder

Renny: I just had this thought- I should probably write down all my ideas for this fic.

Green: Might help with actually writing it if you know where half of it's going.

Renny: Well, I managed fifty-odd chapters of _Redemption_ before I gave up entirely, so I should be able to get to about twenty before I lose the plot.

Green: As in lose your mind?

Renny: No, as in lose the plot. Of this story. Disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

Green had finally figured out what the glass ball was.

First of all, it was pretty tough to break into. There were several small holes for the pokemon to breathe with, and the top where Tick had been shoved through.

It also bound him, so Tick couldn't use any of his attacks or abilities- limited though they were- and Green couldn't break the thing open without hurting Tick. He needed the key. That was the only safe way to get the stupid thing open.

This was annoying him. Greatly.

Also Red wouldn't stop staring at him, and Blue kept glancing at him every now and then.

That was annoying too, but at least he could do something about that.

"What?" Green snapped, half an hour after they'd been captured.

See? Told you he was annoyed.

"Nothing, it's just . . ." Blue trailed off and glanced at Red.

"You're perfectly fine." Red finished.

"So?" Green demanded waspishly.

"So . . . you were hit on the head with the bottom of a sword hard enough to give someone a concussion, and you're perfectly fine." Blue said. "How are you perfectly fine?"

"He didn't hit as hard as he thought he did." Green muttered, not even taking his eyes off Tick, who was huddled up to Green as close as the ball would allow him. "I acted. Pretended I was hurt more than I actually was. Made them let their guards down. _Do I need to say it in Latin_?"

"Okay, okay, calm down!" Red snorted. "Who even speaks Latin, anyway?"

" _Ego facere, vos stultus asinus_!" Green snapped. " _Ego simulata ut laesistis_!"

"Apparently _he_ does." Blue said. "Fair enough."

"Fine, so you acted. But I've seen pain, and you looked pretty much in pain to me." Red went on.

 _Shut the hell up already,_ Green thought angrily.

Red looked like Green had slapped him. Wait, did he say that out loud or-

No, he hadn't said it out loud. So . . . did that mean he said it with telepathy?

Huh. Well okay then. Looked like he was getting better at it. Or maybe it was just anger fueling his power. That was probably the case, most people and pokemon got a hell of a lot more powerful when anger was a crutch for them. Not a nice crutch, but it helped.

Toni came back over from some small joint room she'd been checking out, because this was a storage room and for all they knew it might hold a few pokeballs that weren't empty- hopefully something powerful.

"I don't wanna alarm anyone," she began casually. "But there's a body in there."

Green's head snapped up. "You what?" he demanded.

Okay, maybe there wasn't any pokemon.

He, Red and Blue got up to go and look.

"Well, I said there was a body." Toni shrugged, following them in.

There was a cardboard cut-out of some dude, crumpled in most places and ripped in a few more, lying on the floor near some cardboard boxes.

Green turned to glare at Toni.

"I didn't exactly specify what kind." she went on shamelessly.

"You," Green practically growled. "Are hopeless."

"No I'm not, I'm T- Phoebe."

"You've been waiting this whole time to make that joke, haven't you?" Green sighed.

"Yep."

Despite himself, Green smiled a little bit- and Toni whooped in celebration, throwing her arms into the air.

"Hah, I knew that would work!" she cried happily. "You're smiling again!"

"I was smiling on the inside." Green informed her.

He gently placed Tick's glass ball on top of one of the boxes. Tick looked out at him with wide eyes, scared out of his mind.

He said something but Green couldn't hear what he said, because of the glass. As well as being bound, it was also soundproof. Tick could basically scream at the top of his lungs and no one would hear.

"I could try picking the lock." Blue offered, suddenly beside him. "I'm good at that."

"I've already tried it." Green said quietly. "Didn't work."

He wasn't gonna ask why she knew how to pick locks.

"Why don't we break it open? It looks pretty weak. I could get Aero to-"

"NO!" Green yelled, whirling around and finally losing his patience with Red. "That's a horrible idea and it'll get Tick killed, you understand? This stupid thing's _bound_! I don't think I need to say that in Latin!"

"Oh." Blue breathed, a hand over her mouth. So she'd finally figured out what the damn thing was too.

Toni had already known. She looked away, and busied herself with looking through the boxes- there was nothing she could do anyway, it wasn't an electrical lock.

Red seemed to be the only one who didn't get it.

"So?" he asked.

"So? _So_?" Green shook slightly and then stomped his foot on the floor as a way to channel some of his anger. "If a pokemon gets bound, they can't use their attacks, their abilities, whatever! He's been cut off! We open this forcefully and it'll kill him!"

Red took a step back in shock.

"I've seen it happen!" Green went on ruthlessly. "A friend of mine had a Shinx that got caught in one these things, and he didn't have the key- it'd been destroyed. So he tried to open it by breaking it and . . . the pokemon just died. That's the failsafe in these things. It was originally built for criminals- pokemon or human. The failsafe was in case they managed to break it, even the smallest of cracks can set it off. It's just instant death, nothing else! We don't even know if it's painless, but since it was made for criminals, my guess is _no_!

"You open that thing with whoever Aero is and you'll be murdering him! You want that on your conscience? Or are you actually thicker than I thought you were, and nothing I've said has gotten through to you!?" Green came to a stop, panting. His fists were clenched and there was a burning sensation inside of him.

He needed to break something.

Preferably soon.

"Get out, now." Toni said to Red and Blue. "Both of you."

"But I didn't even-" Blue started.

"OUT."

The other two Trainers left hastily. Toni went over to the door and checked that they actually were gone (or as gone as they could get when they'd been trapped in the same room) and then shut the door, turning back to Green.

Who had sunk down with his back against the box, and had buried his face in his hands.

Toni sat next to him.

"We'll get the key." she said, as if it was just a simple fact and not a slim possibility. "My bet is that the idiot in charge of this stupid op is the one who's got it. So, how about we go out and make him give us the key?"

"What about the hostages?" Green mumbled. "Our first . . . p-priority is to them."

"Them's the rules." Toni shrugged. "But since when did we actually give a shit about rules anyway?"

Green looked up. Toni was grinning at him, her eyes sparking with power and- and anger.

He wasn't the only one pissed at the glass ball.

 **oooo**

One of the knights- or grunts, probably- tried to run away, but Green caught him with a blast of Psychic and he hit the man off the side of a nearby building.

Something cracked, and Green wasn't sure if it was the wall or the man's bones.

Actually, he didn't care.

"Please!" one of the only conscious ones begged. "D-don't hurt me!"

"Should have thought of that before you put this adorable little baby into a murder ball." Toni said sweetly.

"Where's the key." Green demanded, stalking over. He was levitating the glass ball beside him, in case he accidently dropped it. Despite how sturdy the balls were, Green didn't want to take any chances.

"I d-don't have it, r-really!" the grunt cried. "Y-you want- you want the boss, Merek! He's the one who's got the key, I-I swear!"

Toni glanced at Green, whose eyes flashed purple.

" . . . He's telling the truth." Green said eventually.

"Good for you." Toni told the grunt.

"Oh . . . oh thank you so much, c-can I go now? Will you let me go?"

"Who said anything about letting you go?" Toni wondered, then knocked him out with a Shock Wave-reinforced kick. Then paralysed him for the police when they would eventually get to Azalea.

"Who indeed." Green muttered darkly.

He glanced at Tick to make sure he was okay. For the most part, the Togepi seemed fine- except he'd curled into the leftovers of his shell and now looked like some sort of weird Easter egg.

"Togepis do that, right?" Toni asked, looking over as well.

"Yeah, as far as I know. It's their own version of Defence Curl or something." Green told her. "I just hope the glass is soundproof on both ends . . ."

He didn't want Tick hearing what was bound to be a bloodbath. Despite the whole 'not gonna coddle him' thing, Green felt that . . . maybe a little coddling was fine.

"Have you noticed none of these idiots seem to be surprised?" Green asked, a few minutes and about fifty knocked-out-possibly-dead grunts later.

"This dude seems surprised to me." Toni answered. She held up one of the grunts she was currently beating the shit out of, and kicked him in the nuts when he tried to pry her fingers off his neck.

"No, I mean, when we use our powers." Green explained, flinging another grunt twenty-odd feet away. He landed in a crumpled heap and didn't get up. "Sure, they run away and all that, it's a normal reaction to crazies on a warpath. But they don't seem shocked when we chuck, oh say, lightning at their faces or something. Why?"

"They're dumb?" Toni suggested, shrugged. "Honestly, who gives a Raticate's ass anyway? Let's just focus on finding this Merek guy. Oi, you, where's your leader?"

"W-wha . . .?" one of the fallen grunts mumbled.

Green rolled his eyes and gripped the front of the man's shirt, or the undershirt since he was wearing armour. For some reason.

"Merek. One of the other morons down that way," Green gestured in the vague direction of the pokemon centre. "Told us about your leader. Said his name's Merek. We can't appear to locate the bastard. Tell us where he is or I'm letting my sister here Thunder Beam your ass into the next century."

"H-he's near the Gym!"

"Thank you for your consideration." Green said, and then hit him with a Psywave. The grunt whimpered and collapsed into a heap.

"You may wanna try not frying their brains." Toni suggested, looking back at all the grunts Green had taken out. "Police'll wanna question them. Also, nice reference."

"Glad you caught it." Green thanked her.

"Just don't start chucking psychic tridents at people."

"I make absolutely no promises whatsoever."

But that was a good idea. He could make tridents out of psychic energy and throw them at the grunts . . . and since it was _his_ energy he was using, he could probably make the tridents able to essentially smash anything- bones, armour, whatever.

He'd get to that as soon as he figured out telepathy.

Green and Toni knew exactly where the Gym was, well, Green did anyway. After the incident in New Bark town they'd gone to a store in Violet city and had found some maps. Naturally, Toni just waited while Green looked them over, because she couldn't read a map to begin with and Green could just look at the maps through his memory.

Needless to say, they left the shop owner very confused. Why look at fifty-odd maps of Johto and it's cities and towns and not buy anything?

Oh well.

Trouble was, even if he could see the maps anytime he wanted, Green still didn't have much of a sense of direction. So basically the maps were useless to him unless he had some sort of . . . anchor, so to speak, to tell him where stuff was.

All pokemon centres were marked clearly on the maps, so he was using that as an anchor. The Gym was in the Southern part of town, so they needed to head directly opposite to the pokemon centre and then, if they didn't find the Gym before they hit the edge, start going right.

Luckily they saw the Gym through the trees before long, so they didn't need to start going right. That would have resulted in an argument about directions and perceptions that Green really, really did not want to get into again.

"Should we get out the pokemon for this?" Toni asked, as their training kicked in and they started sneaking up behind the Gym.

"What's the point in that?" Green replied. "They're strong, sure, but we only got them like two weeks ago. It takes more time than that to get to the point where we don't need to worry about them, three or four months at least."

"Damn, I wish Sparkless was here." Toni cursed.

"Well, he isn't- hopefully he'll turn up soon though."

Green cut off the power holding the murder ball and caught it gently as it fell. Tick bounced lightly with the movement but otherwise he didn't move.

He allowed himself to be worried for a few seconds before steeling himself to confront this Merek guy.

"- fine by me, you little brat."

"Of course it's fine by you, we're more important than a bunch of random people! Now let them all go and you've got yourself a deal."

"Oh no." Green sighed, slapping a hand to his face.

"Is that who I think it is?" Toni frowned, one eye narrowed in confusion.

They snuck around to the corner and peeked out.

Red and Blue were standing in front of a tall and weedy-looking man with an ugly grin on his face. There were several grunts surrounding them, two of which were holding Red and Blue.

The weedy-looking man was wearing black and white armour, in contrast to the grunts' solid white armour. Green didn't really need to read minds to know that this guy was probably Merek.

"What in fuck's name are they doing here?" Toni whispered harshly.

"Beats me." Green grumbled. "But whatever it is they're doing, it seems to be working. Kind of."

"Sure, we'll let them go- as soon as we've done what it is we need to do here of course." Merek shrugged.

"And what exactly would that be?" Blue scowled.

"Why would you think I'd tell you?" Merek chuckled. It was an ugly sound, like his grin but worse. "Trying to catch me off-guard?"

"Well, that was the plan." Red shrugged. "So, if you could just explain why you're holding the entire town for ransom . . ."

"How about no, boy." Merek scoffed. "Learn to show some respect to your elders."

"The last person who said that to me was trying to kill me, so, no."

"And this last person couldn't have succeeded?" Green muttered.

"That kinda makes me wonder who he is really." Toni said.

"Well, duh." he replied.

"I'd love to stay around and chat, but I have something to do." Merek said, turning to leave.

An Arbok slithered in, making him stop in his tracks. At first Green thought it was gonna attack him, but then Merek broke out into another ugly grin and cooed.

Ugh. Sick. And not the nice definition.

"Oooh, Arbok!" Merek practically gushed. "How are you, mm? Did those mean, mean children hurt you?"

 _"No KILL . . . capture Rotommm."_ Arbok hissed. Now that he wasn't in the middle of trying to get away from the snake, Green could see that his eyes were kind of wide and blank.

Oh dear Mew, what in hell's name had been done to that poor Arbok?

And then he saw Sparkless held captive in the snake's tail, barely keeping his eyes open.

Toni gasped and started forward, but Green held her back. Luckily it seemed no one was paying much attention to the corner, so they went unnoticed- for now, at least.

"S-Sparkless- he's- come on, we need to-"

"Shut up and listen to me!" Green snapped. "I've got a plan."

"How does that help Sparkless _look at him fuckdamn you_ -"

" _Toni for the ever-loving fuck shut up_."

She shut up.

" _Thank_ you. Now- what are you looking at?" Green asked, suddenly noticing that she wasn't actually paying attention to him.

Toni just pointed.

Green turned around and saw one of knight grunts standing behind them.

"Ah, piss." Green muttered.

They were quickly shoved over to Red and Blue, who were understandably shocked. Tick was snatched away from Green, and he almost lost it then and there. But then he took his own advice (for once) and reluctantly turned away from the grunt holding the murder ball.

"And who would you be?" Merek asked patronisingly.

"No one!" Blue said, before Green or Toni could answer. "They're just beginners, leave them out of this!"

Green shot a glare at her. She was a beginner to, albeit somehow with a goddamn Blastoise, but that gave her no right to treat him and Toni like little kids.

What the hell made her and Red so special?

"I think not." Merek scoffed. "Not when you react so strongly."

"Sir, status report." one of the grunts nearby suddenly spoke up, putting away what looked like a more advanced version of a PokeGear.

"Go ahead."

"Police are on their way, along with this town's Gym Leader." the grunt said. "Scouts advised us to leave as soon as possible, sir."

"Great, and I was just getting into this too . . ." Merek sighed. "Oh well. Looks like you won't have to bargain with our team today, boy."

"And what team would that be?" Green demanded, before he lost his chance.

"Why, Team Sovereign of course!" Merek exclaimed, sounding surprised that he'd asked.

"Like the Digimon?" Toni asked.

Green snorted and turned away, and Merek turned slightly red.

"No!" the man snapped. "Not like the- why does everyone keep saying that!? You know what? I was going to be nice and let you all go, but after that insult . . . Arbok, kill them!"

The snake reared up and hissed. It would have been terrifying had Green not faced more terrifying things, and on a regular basis as well.

But for the sake of maintaining their cover, he and Toni acted like they were scared.

"Stop!" Red snapped. "Blue said to leave them out of this!"

"They insulted the Team!" Merek stubbornly barked back.

 _3._

Arbok's grip loosened on Sparkless, who slid to the ground.

 _2._

"Gunk Shot!" Merek shouted.

"No, wait!" Blue cried.

 _1._

"NOW!" Green screamed.

"Thunder Beam!" Toni shouted.

Sparkless shot up behind the Arbok, sparking like crazy, and then all the sparks turned into a small ball- which then pretty much exploded and shot out in a massive beam that looked more like a lightning lazer than anything else.

The Thunder Beam went straight through the Arbok's body, and Arbok disintergrated. It carried on and did the same to several grunts.

Sparkless moved the Beam so it wouldn't hit Green, Toni, Red or Blue and it ended up hitting the Gym instead. Half of it disintergrated just like Arbok and the grunts, and the other half just crumbled into rubble.

The Thunder Beam fizzled out and died, and Sparkless turned to the rest of the Sovereign grunts and Merek.

 _"Boom boom BOOM MOTHERFUCKERS YOU MESS WITH MY PARTNER I'LL MESS WITH YOUR ARCEUS-DAMMED LIVES YOU WANNA GO CUS THAT'S WHAT I'M THINKING YOU WANNA FUCKING DO C'MON-"_

"R-retreat!" Merek called, panicked. "Retreat, now! Before that thing fires again!"

"Hold it!" Green shouted.

Sparkless got in the Team's way before they could get anywhere. Green walked up to Merek.

"Give me the key for the murder ball." he demanded. The ball had been dropped when the Thunder Beam had gone off, but from what he could see, there weren't any cracks on it and Tick seemed fine.

"Or else." Toni added unnecessarily.

Merek stared at them for a second, and then he jerked when he heard the sparks starting up again.

"Alright, alright!" he cried, chucking a small piece of grey metal at Green. "Now let us go!"

 _Funny how the tables have turned,_ Green mused.

"Thank you." Green said. "Sparkless, let them go."

The Rotom hissed and cursed without taking a breath as Team Sovereign left. If Green had actually cared, he would have laughed at how they pretty much just ran like little girls. No offence to actual little girls. It was just an expression. Stop glaring. Please.

He walked over to the murder ball and pressed the metal against the top, and it beeped at him. Then he removed the top and gently took Tick out of it.

Green stepped away from the murder ball and nodded at Toni.

"Have at it, mate." Toni said to Sparkless, who squealed and started zapping away merrily.

" . . . What in the hell was _that_?"

Oh, right. Red and Blue were still there.

"Thunder Beam!" Toni grinned. Only she could pretend that everything was totally fine when it kind of wasn't.

Oh well.

"But- but that isn't an attack!" Blue exclaimed. "What the hell!"

"You just killed ten people!" Red shouted. "And a pokemon! And you're acting like everything's perfectly fine!"

"They were gonna kill us." Green shrugged. "Fair play, right?"

"Not fair play! That was very much _not_ fair play!"

"Um, I'd like to point out that you're homophobic and pretty much hate me because of that. You wanna talk about not fair play? Come back when you're not a complete hypocrite." Green told him. "You'd be a great politician. Oh, and I think the words 'I win' are appropriate here."

Red didn't have anything to say to that. Blue, on the other hand, did.

"I know I'm the last person who should be saying this, but why?" she asked, somewhat calmer now. "You could have just shot a Thunder Wave at them. Why shoot off an attack that can basically vaporise everything it touches like that? That was just . . . wrong, and overkill too!"

"There is no kill like overkill." Toni cackled.

No one said she was sane. Actually, no one ever said Green was sane either. So there was that.

 _"Mama?"_

He glanced down and gave Tick a gentle smile. Or as gentle as he could manage given the circumstances, of course.

"You're okay now." Green told him.

 _"I-I kept still. I didn't break it."_ Tick whispered. _"Cus I heard what you said about the failsafe."_

Oh, shit. So the soundproof thing wasn't two-way.

Green couldn't exactly answer him at the moment, what with Red and Blue standing there, but he hugged Tick a little harder. That seemed to comfort the Togepi a little.

"You killed a bunch of people for the sake of _that_?" Red suddenly snapped.

Green's eyes narrowed and he glared at Red. " _That_ has a name." he replied icily.

"I don't care! You two are insane!" Red went on. Blue hit him on the shoulder, but he just ignored her. "You should be locked up in some mental place! You're unnatural! Insane, unnatural, whatever! When the police get here, I'm turning you both in!"

"Oh for fuck's sake . . ." Toni sighed. "Green, stop growling, you're supposed to give Tick a _good_ role model."

"The lesson here is that sometimes violence is the answer." Green said darkly.

Red pulled out a pokeball. "I'll show you violence, you freak of na-"

A pokeball flew down from somewhere, and it burst open mid-air.

The Aggron inside- which was now, of course, outside- reared up and Roared at Red and Blue, making them take a step back in fear.

"SURPRISE BITCHES!"

"Is that-?" Green broke off as an Altaria flew by gracefully.

The blue Dragon bird landed without a sound, and a blue-haired woman jumped off and ran to the Aggron's side.

"The day has been saved!" Rena exclaimed, throwing her arms up into the air. "The great and powerful Rena has come to rescue the-"

" _Rena_!" Toni squealed, and threw herself at the young woman.

If it had been anyone else, they would have stumbled, but Rena wasn't anyone else. She did, however, stop in her tracks and twist around to stare at Toni.

"Uh. I'm saving you here, hugs can come later." Rena said.

"We don't need saving." Green informed her.

Rena stared at him now. "You what." she said flatly.

"We kinda did it ourselves." Green shrugged apologetically. "We sorted it out. Kind of."

Rena blinked a couple of times and then gently pulled Toni off her.

"You mean, I missed all the action." she said calmly.

Green nodded, slightly uncertain. Toni giggled and gestured behind Rena, who turned around and stared at the broken Gym.

Rena put her hands on her face and yelled, making several of them jump. "YOU MEAN I MISSED ALL THE ACTION!?" she screeched.

"Um, sorry?" Green tried.

"For the love of Mew, Luci!" Rena carried on shouting. "You said we'd get here in time, you goddamn liar, why would you do this to me!?"

"Luci?" Red whispered to Blue, who shrugged.

"AAAAARGHH!" Rena fell to her knees in a classic form of despair.

"So, uh, why are you here anyway?" Toni asked, with her usual tact. Green elbowed her and she shrugged at him.

Rena jumped up and spun around, suddenly perfectly calm and fine. Wow. And Green thought Toni switched moods fast.

"Mom and Dad said you guys might need some help." Rena shrugged. _Neron called me in, said you might need a bit of backup,_ was what she sent to Green, Toni and presumably Sparkless.

"Aw, what?" Toni whined. "But we're doing just fine!"

"The hell you are, look at the mess you've gotten into!" Rena scoffed. _I know you don't actually_ need _the help, but the prick insisted._

"Alright, fine, whatever." Green sighed, like he was pissed at her and not Neron- or their fake parents.

 **oooo**

"So, you're their big sister." Blue said, somewhat doubtfully, a couple of hours later.

By now, the hostages had been freed and everyone was mostly going back to normal routine. Of course, since the police and the Gym Leader arrived, basically everyone was being interviewed for their own version of events.

Green was just thankful that Rena had somehow managed to convince them to leave Green and Toni alone. She must have used her police alias or something. Or the princess one. Or maybe . . . okay, he was gonna confuse himself.

"That's right, little miss." Rena leaned back in her seat and rested her hands behind her head. "Name's Rena."

"Are you aware that your little brother is a crime against nature?" Red asked.

"Say that again and I'll rip out your tongue, fucker." Rena replied, like she was talking about the weather.

Red jerked back.

"Are you all incredibly violent or are we just lucky to get three of you at the same time?" Blue frowned.

"Hon, you have no idea what violent is." Rena laughed. "But, no. Not all of us in the Menny family is as violent as we are. Probably. I dunno, I've been travling a while and for all I know some long-lost cousin who happens to be a pacifist has turned up in my absence."

"No one's turned up." Green assured her.

"Oh, good, we're still number one for craziness."

"Menny?" Red blinked. "Is that even a name?"

"Well, it's better than saying Menoetius." Rena shrugged. "For one thing, it's a damn mouthful. For another, half the people I meet can't even pronounce it. So, Menny. You've met the awesome trio of the Menny family, congrats, be happy, kids."

"I don't _feel_ happy." Red remarked.

"Too bad, so sad, go stick your head in a furnace."

Red looked kind of scared. Good, at least he was gonna shut up for once.

"So how come none of you look alike?" Blue asked them. "I mean, I get why you," she pointed at Rena. "Look different to them, but Tommy and Phoebe are twins. Shouldn't they at least have the same eye colour?"

"You ever heard of fraternal twins?" Toni replied, leaning back lazily. "That's what we are. I can assure you we are definitely twins. Unfortuntely."

"One day, she'll wake up and find that she's dead." Green said. "And I will have absolutely no sympathy. Mainly because I'm the one that killed her."

"I don't know violence, do I?" Blue dryly said to Rena.

Rena just grinned.

Red and Blue were called away to give their statements to the police, so the three Deviants took the oppertunity to talk properly.

"So, Neron sent you." Green said. "Does he think we're incompetent?"

"No, he just wants me around as insurance or some shit." Rena sighed, sliding down in her seat until she was practically lying on it. "And I ruined my chance for a Big Damn Heroes moment too . . ."

"Is Luci _still_ trolling you?" Toni asked incredulously.

"Uh-huh." Rena muttered. "Arceus-damn Latios."

"How'd you get Cas to evolve anyway? Last time we saw you, he was an Aron. This was, what, four months ago maybe?" Green asked her. "Even you can't work that fast."

"He was pretty close anyway, and from there it was a matter of beating up unsuspecting Trainers. This old dude with a Manectric was persistant . . ." Rena mused. "It got me rich though, I can tell you that now."

"This coming from someone who can't even be arsed to pay for her own rooms at a hotel." Toni smirked, crossing her arms.

"Well, being rich means I can legally be a total and complete bitch, so whatever. Screw the rules, I fucking make them." Rena puffed out a lazy breath. "So how's it going with you two? From what I know, you're incognito. Yet I just got told that Sparkless evaporated several people, an Arbok and half a building."

"Well we couldn't exactly use our new teams, could we?" Green shrugged. Tick squeaked happily on his lap. "No offence to them, but they're not exactly trained up enough for the kinda crap we get into on a regular basis."

"Maybe you should challenge the Gyms." Rena suggested. "It'd be a good way to train them up."

"You shitting me?" Toni scoffed. "I ain't doing nothing that's on TV. There's overkill and then there's pure stupidity."

"And incognito means we stay hidden, not be well-known celebrities on TV." Green explained. "Unlike you, we don't exactly have hundreds of aliases."

"Eh." Rena shrugged, not particularly bothered. "What're you doing here then?"

"There's two Deviants in this town, and we would have been done with this dump ages ago had we not been taken prisoner by a bunch of Digimon-wannabes." Toni told her.

"Be nice, it's a cool place. For an obscure town, that is." Green muttered.

"Well, I could help with one Deviant search." Rena remarked. "She's over there."

Rena pointed to a random eight year old girl with a Slowpoke in her arms. She was being interviewed by a policewoman and didn't seem that terrified for a little girl who'd been held hostage for . . . some reason.

Dammit, he should have asked what Team Sovereign were doing in this place. Though since they were apparently terrorists, and they were stealing nuclear stuff . . . they probably needed the money from the ransoms they would have gotten from Red and Blue (he still didn't know what was so important about them, and everyone seemed to know but him and Toni) to get fuel or something.

Which probably wasn't a good sign, but so long as it was over and no one died.

Well.

Besides those grunts, that crazy Arbok and half the Gym building, but that was beside the point.

"Oh, that was easy." Toni blinked. "Should we go grab her or what?"

"Toni, these things require tact and diplomacy." Green chastised her. "Have some respect."

Rena suddenly held up a DataGear. "Here." she said.

Green took it from her. "What is it?"

"The kettle. He wanted to know if you were also black." Rena grinned.

Green glared at her and chucked the DataGear at her. It hit her stomach and she slid off the rest of her chair with a breathless 'oof'. Didn't stop her from cackling madly though.

In the end they decided to wait until the policewoman was done with the girl. The mother didn't seem to be anywhere nearby, so the three of them- plus Tick, because everyone else was being healed by the Nurse- wandered over.

"Hi kid." Rena greeted, waving.

" . . . Hi." the little girl said.

Well. Not that little, at least not compared to Green and Toni. In fact she wasn't actually that much smaller than them.

"You know about mutants right?" Rena asked the girl. "Them peeps with the superpowers and awesomeness that no one but the readers and viewers can love?"

"Of course I do." the girl said quietly. "I like superheroes. So does Pokey."

Someone needed to tell kids that naming pokemon silly things like that just made them seem less lik a threat and more like a cuddly little- oh wait, this was a kid, she probably wouldn't care.

Nevermind then. It was still a stupid way to name them though.

. . . Says the dude with a Togepi called Tick.

Ugh.

Kettle indeed.

"Well congrats kid, you're now officially part of our superhero club." Rena told her. "Wanna go somewhere private? You parents won't care, right?"

"They're currently lying in a grave, so, no." the girl said.

Um.

" _Okay_ I think we've had enough death and despair for one day!" Rena exclaimed, at an awkward attempt to make the situation less depressing. "C'mon, I got a room in this craphole and we're using that as a base. No cameras or anything."

"Did you pay for it?" Green asked, as they walked to the lift.

"Dude. It's a pokemon centre, no one pays for rooms unless you're not an active Trainer. Or something." Rena shrugged. "I dunno. If I did have to pay for it, I'd just manipulate them into giving it to me for free. Or maybe I'd make them thing I've already paid . . . now that I think about it, there's so many ways to commit fraud-"

"Rena, please, kid." Green snapped. "Don't give her the wrong idea about us."

"Mutants sometimes do illegal things to do the right thing, so I don't mind." the girl said.

Yeah but mutants weren't Rena.

"See? I can murder someone and it would be totally fine." Rena stuck out her tongue.

"Real mature." Green muttered.

"Alright, we're at my floor now!" Rena cried, walking out of the lift.

"Wait, why are we on the top floor? I didn't even know pokemon centres had top floor rooms!" Toni exclaimed, rushing after her. "What is this, the grand sweet or whatever?"

"Grande suite, I think you'll find it's called." Green corrected her.

"That's what I said. Grand sweet."

"No, you said- nevermind."

"Are all of you superheroes this strange or is it just you?" the girl asked.

Green never thought he'd have two people ask variations of the same question in one day. Today was full of surprises.

"There are some normal Deviants, but we call them paper-pushers and suck-ups. They're boring. The more exciting ones are like us but maybe not as awesome." Rena told her. "You know what?"

Rena came to a stop at some random door and swiped a card on the lock. It beeped and opened.

"We never got your name, kid." she went on as she walked into the room.

Wow, it _was_ a fancy room. Green didn't know rooms like this existed in a pokemon centre.

"They normally reserve them for celebs." Rena explained. "So most people actually _don't_ know they exist. But since I've got several aliases who happen to be celebs . . ."

"Stop reading my mind." Green sighed, putting a hand on his face and gritting his teeth slightly.

"My name's Cloe." the girl replied. She wandered over to one of the oversized armchairs and curled into it, hugging her Slowpoke close. "And I've already introduced Pokey."

 _"S'up."_ the Water/Psychic type said.

"You called yourself a Deviant." Cloe recalled. "Why?"

"Okay, here comes the best bit. We get to show off and stuff." Rena grinned. "And since you're half Psychic that means Green can bond with you. Or however these things go."

"She half what now?" Green said. Toni was similarly surprised.

"You didn't check?" Rena sighed, looking mildly disappointed. "Ugh. Her partner's Pokey there, and she's a Water/Psychic kid. Sammy was Water too, right?"

"How do you- you know what, I need to stop asking stupid questions." Toni grumbled.

"Yes, yes you do. But sometimes stupid questions are the only ones worth asking." Rena told her. "So anyway, Deviant basically means you have types. Think of mutants but with pokemon types. Green over there is a Psychic/Ghost Deviant, hence why I said about that bonding thing."

"We're not bonding." Green scowled.

"Okay, so he's a sourpuss, but all the best Psychics are." Rena shrugged.

"You're not a sourpuss." Toni pointed out, taking a seat on a giant cushion. Green plonked himself down next to her.

"I'm the exception to just about everything. But anyway, this isn't about me, it's about little Cloe here." Rena said.

"How is he a Ghost type?" Cloe asked, peering curiously at Green. "Did he die?"

"No." Green explained. "No one's actually sure how Ghost Deviants come about, but sometimes there's a massive event- obviously a traumatising one- that turns them Ghost or half Ghost. That's one way of becoming a Ghost typed Deviant. There are other ways, but no one's actually sure and some of the Ghosts themselves don't even know. Some are just born like that. For all we know, they could have been stillborn or something, and they came back as a Ghost Deviant. Or half Ghost. You get the point."

"Did you have a traumatising event?" Cloe asked.

Green looked at her for a few seconds, then he looked away. "Yeah." he mumbled. "Yeah, I did."

Cloe was quiet as well for a little bit, and then she nodded slowly. "I won't ask. It would be rude, especially when you've been so nice to me. So, what did you mean by Pokey being my partner?"

Well, at least she was nice. And pretty calm- Green was kinda hoping that all of the Deviants they were gonna find would react like this, but then again, that was way too much to hope for.

Ten to one, the next Deviant in this town was gonna react badly or something.

Aaand now he'd just jinxed it. Great. Well, at least Cloe was pretty fine with it all.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Huh, this chapter ended up being longer than I thought it would. I thought I'd have to get to the second Deviant halfway through.

Green: You just had us kill several people and we're acting like it's totally fine?

Renny: Well, you've been through worse things. Let's not forget FORESHADOWING. I love doing that but I think I may be being a little bit too obvious about it. Oh well. Read and review people! Please? I need to know if this ain't actually a piece of shit like I think it is.


	8. Chapter 8- The Faceless

Renny: I'm enjoying this fic, despite the fact that I don't exactly know whether or not anyone besides Arrow likes it. Not to say I don't appreciate Arrow, but I'd like some other feedback so I know what other people think- if you think something's a piece of shit in this fic, at least tell me, damn you!

Green: Dude, it's only the eighth chapter. Chill.

Renny: I won't chill until I get some other reviews! I'm being whiney and stupid I know, but reviews is what I need to get better! If I'm doing something wrong and I don't notice, like a plot hole or something that I can't see because I'm an idiot, then someone else could point it out!

Green: Let's not forget that you wanted to get this up to _Redemption'_ s review-level.

Renny: That one has over two hundred, what do you expect?

Green: Most of those were repeat reviews.

Renny: I don't see what the issue is, at least people bothered! Yeah, moving on. There are feels and a breakdown in this chapter, so if anyone finds that stuff like . . . trigger-y or whatever it is, then maybe skim the details. Also depending on whether or not the scenes go on for the whole chapter, we might be ending up with Mood Whiplash.

Green: Perfect.

Renny: Just do the disclaimer.

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

 _"Are you two completely insane!?"_ Ice shouted.

"How many _more_ people're gonna ask that?" Toni muttered.

 _"You faced down a criminal organisation, who also happen to be fucking terrorists mind you, and almost died several times- and you DIDN'T CALL US OUT!?"_

"We've already told you-" Green began.

 _"I don't give a damn what you told me!"_ Ice snapped. _"You could have been killed!"_

"But we weren't."

 _"That's not the damn point, you_ could have been _!"_

"But we weren't."

 _"Or at the very least crippled or, oh and this is a good one, maybe in a damn coma!"_

"But we weren't."

 _"I'm not denying that you make an excellent point,"_ Ice sighed, finally calming down a little. _"But the fact is that you almost were."_

 _"It's a pokemon's job to make sure their Trainer is safe."_ Nameless told them. _"We already know you can handle yourselves, but we still worry. It's what we do, that's loyalty."_

"How touching." Rena said flatly from the bed.

 _"And you!"_ Ice whirled on Rena, who sat up, looking startled. _"You nearly killed them as well- what if your damn Aggron had landed on them or something? Or if you hadn't realised your mistake in time, you could have killed Blue!"_

 _"And Red."_ Nameless added.

 _"No one cares about that little shit."_

"I'm not gonna bother dignifying that with a response, seeing as every one that I would make would just result in the same argument you and Green just had." Rena shrugged. "Besides, I know how to show restraint. Sometimes."

 _"MAYBE NOT ALL THE TIME."_ Castiel the Aggron said. _"BUT WHEN SHE DOES, IT'S A SIGHT TO SEE."_

"What he said." Rena agreed. Then she paused. "Wait, what?"

Ice pinched the bridge of his nose with his claws. _"You people . . . what are you all like? Are you all as careless as this?"_ he asked.

"Well no, _we_ just have no self-preservation instincts." Green shrugged. "Everyone else is probably different."

 _"That just fills me with confidence. Your entire species is going to be extinct, you know."_

"Welp, good news is if scientists find fossils of us they can just revive us!" Toni grinned.

Everyone stared at her.

"I don't think ressurection works like that, kid." Rena eventually said.

"Ah, piss."

Ice blinked slowly for a second, and then shook his head and opened his jaws- no doubt to continue scolding them- but then Rena spoke up before he could.

"Hey, I just remembered something!" she exclaimed. "I got you two Christmas prezzies!"

"That was . . . hold on, when was that?" Toni asked.

"Weren't you the one who made a massive deal about pretty much missing it?" Green sighed.

"Yes. No. I don't know. Shut up."

"Christmas was a couple of days ago." Rena said. "And you two don't need to give me anything back, so stop feeling guilty, please."

"Stop reading my mind." Green and Toni told her.

"Read my shirt, dumbass." Rena snarked, gesturing to her black t-shirt.

The letters were white and there were only two words, but they pretty much summed up what Rena was saying.

LOL NO was what was on the shirt.

"Nice." Green said dryly. "Where'd you get that one?"

"Some dude. He ripped me _off_ so I ripped his house _up_." Rena replied. "But then I changed the words, so it's whatever."

 _"What does it really say?"_ Amethyst asked her.

"You don't wanna know, Birthstone." Rena shuddered slightly. Then she brightened up. "Anyway, moving on- I got you stuff because Japan apparently decided to have a sale on shit that would normally cost hundreds of quid, for some reason, and Russia was being a piece of shit as usual so I got something from there too."

 _"What?"_ Lifeless asked, confused.

"Here, I give you things."

Rena pulled out a black t-shirt out of her own hammer space, and chucked it to Toni. It was black, like her own, but the white writing instead said KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON MY WAYWARD SON instead of LOL NO. It also had a white pentagram inside of a sun-like symbol above the writing.

"It's bad enough that she's a walking reference sheet, but now you're giving her a shirt that makes her a _living_ reference?" Green demanded.

Rena just shrugged. "Worse things have happened, get over it."

Toni started singing _Carry On My Wayward Son_ , and Green sighed.

"Look at it like this- _Supernatural_ is epic. Therefore anything with ties to _Supernatural_ is also instantly epic. So it stands to reason that Toni now has the most epic shirt on the planet. Be happy, kid." Rena told him.

"I'll be happy when she stops singing."

"In which case you'll be forever grumpy, now here's your shit."

Rena chucked a pendant to him. It was a strange golden colour, in the shape of a teardrop or maybe a raindrop, and there was an amber indent in the middle of it.

Green looked at Rena. "Is it made of, like, gold or something?" he asked. "Because the only time you gave me a bit of jewellery ended with me running from the American police because you stole some gold Egyptian necklace from the Natural History museum."

"No!" Rena exclaimed, gripping the side of the bed and glaring at him. "I promised I'd never do that again!"

Green pulled out a book labelled 'things Rena has nearly gotten me arrested for' out of his hammer space. He cleared his throat and opened it.

"Item number one, concerning two years ago-"

"Yes okay I got it." Rena huffed. "Put that thing away before your Croconaw gets any ideas."

 _"Too late."_ Ice said, already writing something down in a notebook. _"I'm making a list of all the things you crazy people have done so I can emotionally blackmail you later. Or something."_

"Yeah moving on. It's not actually made of gold or anything, it just looks like that." Rena explained. "Press the amber button in the middle."

"This thing?" Green pressed the indent.

It lit up and suddenly there was a glowing blue hologram of the entire building, with all five floors on top of each other, floating in front of him. Green was struck speechless.

"Holy shit, that's just like the map thing from _Iron Man 3_!" Toni squealed, finally giving up on trying to remember the second half of the song.

"What is this thing?" Green breathlessly asked Rena, who grinned at him.

She flipped over onto her back and looked at them all upside-down. "I said I got something from Russia, you know." Rena told them. "Essentially, it gives you a map of any room, building or city or town you happen to be in. The default setting, when you press the button, shows the building you're in. Go outside and you get the whole town, and if you touch one of the buildings on the hologram, you can, basically, look into that building without actually being there. If you're inside a building but you wanna look outside, just give that little blinking dot a tap.

"You wanna make it bigger, just 'grip' the edge of the map, any side, it doesn't matter, and pull. You do the opposite to make it smaller." Rena finished. "So, you impressed yet?"

"Who the hell did you have to kill to get this?" Green asked, in total awe, as he pressed the button again- the hologram disappeared back into the pendant. "Russia was being a prick about it! They wouldn't even let _Japan_ have a look at the tech- wait. You didn't _actually_ kill anyone, right?"

"No, of course not!" Rena laughed. "Though I did have to break into the Russian's Secret Service base, or their equivalent of it anyway."

 _"You did what now?"_ Nameless exclaimed.

"Oh hush, they have hundreds of these things. I just happened to take the best one." Rena looked at him through half-lidded eyes. "I'm not about to give sourpuss here the worst Ghost Plan Pendant out there."

"Ghost Plan Pendant?" Green asked.

"Ghost- in other words, apparition, or hologram. Plan- basically another word for map. Pendant . . . well, if I have to explain that, I need to ask if your head's on right." Rena said. "Hologram Map Pendant would be more accurate, but Ghost Plan Pendant sounds cooler. GPP for short. Or maybe GP2. I like that better. I refer you back to my previous question- impressed yet?"

" _Yes_." Green said firmly. "I'm not gonna give this one up, but if we can get another one of these things-"

"Your tech people could reverse-engineer it so they can have the tech too, smart thinking." Rena agreed. "I'll see what I can do about getting another one. Or maybe ten. Those guards weren't exactly smart; I don't think they even knew I had a face."

"Only you, Rena." Green rolled his eyes.

"Only me." she agreed happily.

 _"You got him a pendant that can give him a map to anything he wants, and you just got Toni a plain old t-shirt?"_ Hopeless asked, tilting her head. _"Forgive me for saying this, but that doesn't exactly seem fair."_

 _"ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR."_ Castiel said.

 _"I wasn't aware we were at war."_ Lifeless replied quietly.

"Well, we are trying to stop nuclear war- that counts. Kind of." Toni shrugged. "But I don't really care, Green's gonna get more use out of something like that than I ever will. I can barely read a map to get myself out of a paper bag."

"True, but that doesn't mean I didn't give you something awesome too." Rena pointed out.

"The shirt is fucking amazing, I ain't complaining."

"No I mean, other than the shirt. I worked my magic on it- specifically, my symbol magic- and you see that pentagram?" Rena pointed to it. "It's coded to only respond to your fingerprint, body-heat, etc. Transform-proof and any other thing that I could think of, which is basically everything, so it will only react to you and only you."

 _"What does it do?"_ Nameless wondered. _"Teleport her?"_

"I have Green for that!" Toni giggled.

"I'm not a _bus_." Green muttered.

"Nah, it doesn't teleport anyone." Rena said, grinning widely. More than usual. "What it _does_ do, however, is let off a Sunburst."

There was a moment of silence.

 _"It lets off a WHAT?"_ Ice shouted.

"Sunburst!" Rena repeated. "Get your ears cleaned."

"SUNBURST HELL YES!" Toni screamed, throwing her arms into the air.

 _"Sun . . . burst?"_ Tick asked.

 _"Yeah, uh, for those of us who didn't grow up in a lab and who were quite literally born less than a week ago, what's a Sunburst?"_ Hopeless asked.

"The most powerful attack on the planet." Green explained. "Besides Judgement of course, but then again we don't actually know if one's more powerful than the other- we can't exactly compare them."

"Some genius- and I'm not being sarcastic- created a combo attack that pretty much every country's government decided was too damn powerful to be legal. Or sane, for that matter." Rena took up the explanation. "Think of Hyper Beam and Solar Beam, but together and with the added in effects of a very, _very_ tiny sun for a little boost."

 _"But . . . why is it called Sunburst?"_ Hopeless frowned. She crossed her short arms. _"Combo attacks normally take parts of their name from the attacks they're made from, or at least the ones you lot have come up with do."_

"Thunder Beam isn't a good example to go off, and neither is Steel Cutter." Green replied. "If the attack was called Sunbeam, then it'd just be like saying it's another version of Solar Beam, which makes it confusing- if a pokemon or Deviant knew both, it would be hard to figure out the difference. Couldn't call it Hyperbeam either, for obvious reasons. Besides, Sunburst basically describes it best anyway. It's literally a giant burst of sun in a beam that can pretty much level an entire city."

 _"You gave a Weapon of Mass Destruction to a twelve year old psychopath!?"_ Ice snapped.

"I'm not a psychopath, I'm a high-functioning sociopath, do your research." Toni responded.

 _"You are not a sociopath!"_

"Oh _wah_ , you're just jelly that I've got awesome power in an awesome shirt." Toni stuck out her tongue.

"She already has the power to technically level half a city, so I thought, why not give her something extra and let her be able to level a city and a half?" Rena shrugged, her hands in the air. "I don't see the issue."

 _"Don't see the issue!?"_ Ice yelled. _"You're all insane!"_

"We never said we _were_ sane." Green told him.

That made the Croconaw pause and look at him.

"Just don't use it regularly." Rena advised. "It takes about three hours to charge up after one use, so use it as a finishing move or in an emergency or whatever. And please don't _actually_ level an entire city, we _do_ have to show restraint now and then, no matter how much we wanna blow shit up."

"I'll try not to." Toni said, grinning at the shirt.

 _"This is all very touching, I am certain."_ someone said.

Everyone looked over at the open window, where two Pidgeottos were sitting. One of them had a black face.

 _"Don't be such a buzzkill, Twin."_ Faceless smiled.

 _"Where the hell have you two been?"_ Ice demaned.

 _"Training. Although Twin refuses to use my Steel Cutter move."_ Faceless rolled her eyes and sighed. She opened her now-larger wings and glided gracefully down to the floor, and Twin followed her.

 _"I do not need to combine my attacks to become stronger. I am already strong."_ the Pidgeotto said haughtily.

 _"You say that_ now _, but what about when you're up against some ass of a Rock type and you need a combo attack, and Steel Wing don't cut it? No offence, Ame."_ Faceless glanced at Amethyst.

 _"None taken, I'm not like the rest of my species."_ Amethyst dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

 _"I will not stoop to the level of-"_

"When and how did you two evolve and why did we not hear about this and also how the hell did we not notice you go out?" Toni rapidly asked.

 _"Hey talking like that's my thing are you stealing my thing Toni and you said you'd never steal any of my things other than my moves you liar!"_ Sparkless cried.

 _"We were training and it just happened, uh, we only just got back so we've only just told you, and you were being shouted at by Ice so we left quietly."_ Faceless answered, sounding slightly confused.

Toni and Green glanced at each other.

"Works for me." he said.

"Yep." she answered.

 **oooo**

"You're leaving?" Toni whined pitifully, half an hour later.

"Yep." Rena said.

"But _why_?" Toni cried. "Why can't you stay and make the other half of our job here easier?"

Rena just laughed, walking out of the door of the pokemon centre. Green and Toni followed her, and stood back as she let out her Altaria.

"I'm not doing your job for you, I'm just the hired help." Rena said, and then paused. "Wait. That bastard didn't actually hire me. I'm not getting paid for thi- aw shit."

 _"Serves you right."_ the Altaria said gracefully. He ruffled his fluffy wings and gave Rena a look that could only be described as smug. _"The instant you hear these childrens' names, you more or less lose your mind."_

"With good reason, we're basically family." Rena muttered. "Whatever. Michael, Olivine city, and don't give me any shit on the way."

 _"Would you like a leisurely cruise or a monsoon, ma'am?"_

"What did I just say, you overgrown Torchic?"

 _"I have selective hearing. I selected not to hear your words."_ Michael replied.

"Don't you get along with _any_ of your pokemon?" Green asked, as Rena climbed onto Michael.

"The pot calls the kettle black once again, kid." Rena smirked.

"Quiet you." Green snapped.

"We're lucky Blue and Red left yesterday." Toni muttered to Sparkless, who giggled.

"I _can_ hear you, you know."

"We know."

Michael spread his wings and was gone into the sky with barely a sound. Altaria weren't exactly known for their speed, not like some Flying types were, but Rena's team weren't exactly a normal bunch. Neither were his or Toni's, but the point still stood.

Since apparently Rena had made arrangements for the two of them to stick around in her room until they had to leave, Green and Toni went back there. Their pokemon were waiting for them.

They quickly formed a plan (or, well, Green, Ice, Nameless and Lifeless formed a plan, everyone else just did whatever) to find the second Deviant.

The job was gonna be made easier since Cloe was living at the local orphanage, which, unlike just about every other orphanage Green had ever seen, was actually a nice place. She'd stay there until the extraction team appeared for her, and then she'd go with them.

No need to make sure a reasonable Deviant was on the team, since she'd already agreed. Her reason for going was best summed up as 'there's nothing for me in this town'. Morbid, for a little girl, but it worked for Green.

Despite what Rena had said, she did make the second part of their job a little easier. Their next target (Toni didn't want to say potential Deviant recruit, it was a mouthful, so target it was) was a boy about fourteen years old, and apparently he was blonde.

As far as Green knew, there weren't many blonde fourteen year old boys wandering around in Azalea. And since they had the adress of the boy, they could find this kid easy.

Well. _Kid_ was a loose term, he was two years older than Green and Toni.

His name was, according to their list, Jack Tucker. In Green's experience, anyone called Jack was a complete asshole, so he warned Toni to be careful- and she agreed wholeheartedly.

He wasn't too sure about the last name.

Jack lived with his parents somewhere on the West side of the city, so at least that meant Green and Toni could leave quicker this time. Not that Green minded their reasons for delaying in Violet city, of course.

"You think he'll answer the door, or his parents?" Toni asked, as they walked up the front path.

"At a guess, after yesterday? The parents. He might be fourteen but the list doesn't exactly show much record of him being an actual Trainer- he's got a Quilava and a Houndour, but that's about it." Green replied. "Let me do the talking, and Sparkless?"

 _"Yeah what is it Green do you want me to impress him with my-"_

"No, I just want you to be quiet. Toni?"

"I was gonna make you do the talking anyway."

He rolled his eyes and knocked on the door.

They waited for several seconds, and when the door finally opened, they were surprised to see that it was a fourteen year old blonde boy who answered.

" . . . Hi there." Green tried. "Um . . . can we talk to you, for a minute?"

"If you want Mom and Dad, they're helping the other police members try and track down who scared off that stupid team from yesterday." Jack told them. He sounded stuck-up and bossy, like he was used to getting his way.

Great.

Wait a second, did he just say 'other police members'?

"Your parents are police?" Green asked, panicking slighty. He didn't show it though.

"Yeah, Dad's the Chief and Mom's his second-in-command or whatever it's called." Jack shrugged.

This was like with Sammy all over again. Except this time it seemed that Jack was an actual ass, not just unmotivated.

"So they're not here, then?" Green checked, instead of moaning unhappily.

"Nope. You want them, go and screw yourself, it's not my business." Jack said disinterestedly. "Wait by the station, they'll turn up."

"It's you that we want to talk to, not your parents." Green said, already getting annoyed with him. Hadn't he already said they wanted to talk to him?

"You after money or something? You look like beggars." Jack sniffed, glaring at their clothes. "And wow, where did you even get that crap? Rubbish bin maybe?"

Toni started growling quietly, and Green put a hand on her arm to stop her from launching herself at the ass in front of them.

"No, we're not after money, and we're not beggars." Green replied evenly.

"You trying to sell me something then?"

"No."

"Preach to me about the bible or some shit?"

"No."

" _Sell_ me the bible?"

"No."

"Tell me about your lord and saviour, Bird Jesus?"

"No- wait, what?"

"Make me do some stupid survey about the government?"

" _No_."

"Then why are you wasting my time?"

" _Because we need to talk to you_ , dammit. Do you mind stepping out of the house, or something?" Green asked.

"Or something, now get off my property."

"A fourteen year old can't own property." Toni spoke up, full-on glaring at him. "One, it's against the law, and two, you're an idiot and I don't like you or your stupid hair."

Jack, looking offended, patted his hair- which, admittedly, did look kind of stupid. It was stuck up in all the wrong ways. Green's own hair was kind of messy, but Toni kept saying he made it work (despite the fact that she also kept saying he needed to cut it at some point).

"Get lost, or I'm calling my parents." Jack snapped.

Green and Toni exchanged a glance and stayed where they were.

Jack glowered at them and muttered an incredibly offensive word under his breath, which Green clearly heard, and went to slam the door on their faces.

"Okay, you know what?" Green said, just before Jack could do anything. "I was gonna be nice about this, but you just forced my hand. We're doing this our way now."

"Doing _what_ your-" Jack began.

He never got past the third word before Green grabbed his arm, already having taken a hold of Toni (who was holding onto Sparkless).

Green used Teleport, and suddenly they were in the forest outside of Azalea, the East side.

Jack staggered away and threw up. They waited for a few seconds while he wiped his mouth, using his sleeve, and then straightened up. He looked around and his mouth fell open.

"But- but how the hell- we were- I was just at my house!" Jack stammered. He spun to Green and Toni. "What the hell! Is this some sort of trick!?"

"No tricks." Green told him, then rapidly tried to explain while he had the asshole's attention. "We're a species called Deviants, and what I just did was Teleport. In case that didn't spell it out, I'm half Psychic."

"The hell you are!" Jack snapped. "I demand proof!"

"I just Teleported us three miles outside of town, what more do you want?"

"Maybe he wants to see other stuff." Toni suggested. Her body lit up with sparks, and she generated some of them into a small Electro Ball.

Then she threw that at some random tree and split the tree in half.

" . . . That could have just been the Rotom. And . . . you could have an Abra." Jack said.

"Sparkless, go over to Jack." Toni ordered. Sparkless, giggling something about belief systems, zipped over to Jack's general area. He didn't get too close though.

Toni made another Electro Ball and raised an eyebrow at Jack.

"Well?" she asked.

" . . . Okay fine. What'd you call yourselves? Deviants? Okay, so, I'm dreaming and I've somehow come up with this totally new sub-species of-"

"We are not a sub-species!" Green barked.

"Dude, we're trying to be nice here, but you're just making it difficult." Toni sighed.

Green quickly calmed himself down before Jack realised he could leave and they couldn't really do much about it.

"Look . . . you're a Deviant too." Green explained, and Jack's eyes widened. "Far as I can tell, you're a Fighting type."

"And how, exactly, _can_ you tell?" Jack asked, in a tone that suggested that he was only humouring them.

"I get impressions. Yours is kind of . . . I guess you could say a sort of Brick Break kind of thing." Green tried to explain. It was hard to explain a Fighting type's impression, since it was similar to a Normal type's, but at least it still wasn't as difficult as a Psychic type.

"Am I even awake?" Jack wondered.

"You want me to zap you and find out?" Toni offered, as Sparkless came back over to them.

"Okay fine, I'm awake." he snapped, scowling. "Let's say this Tauros-shit is real and all that, let's say I'm a Deviant and I'm a Fighting type. What would that mean, huh? As far as I can tell with you two, there isn't anything to remotely tell me that you're what you say you are. So how do I know you're even telling me the truth, or you're not completely insane?"

"How many more times do I need to throw a ball of electricity into a tree for you?" Toni demanded. "And Green just Teleported us, how does that _not_ tell you we're telling the truth?"

"Tell you what." Jack said, ignoring her completely. "One of you battles me, and if you win, I'll believe you. If you lose, I can go home and pretend I never met the two crazy kids who drugged me and pretended they were so-called Deviants."

"That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever." Green bluntly stated. "You can't just decide whether or not to believe someone just because they beat you in a battle!"

"Besides, _we've showed you_." Toni stressed again. "We don't need to-"

"You." Jack interrupted, pointing at Toni. "You look like you've got weak and girly pokemon. I'll battle you."

"Can I just point out that the insanely rare Rotom floating around belongs to her?" Green said, before Toni could even try to do anything she wouldn't regret.

"I don't believe you. Women can't have cool pokemon. It's a fact of life. My mom, however, is the only exception because she's my mom. Any other woman can't have cool pokemon."

"Even if he didn't wanna battle you in the first place, I would have let you do so anyway." Green muttered to Toni. He stepped back and folded his arms. "Have at him."

"I'm gonna enjoy this. So much." Toni hissed.

"Two-on-two, since I only need two." Jack boasted.

"You've only _got_ two." Green called.

"How the hell do you know that?"

"He's half Psychic, remember?" Toni said sarcastically.

As Jack rose to the bait, Green found himself wondering just how things had gone downhill so damn quickly.

Sure, it was probably mostly Jack's fault for being such an ass, but did that mean that he and Toni were also to blame, for reacting like they did?

A very small part of Green hoped that Toni lost, because if she won it meant that they'd probably have to deal with Jack in the city, if he went there. Actually, no, that was a definite thing- Green didn't like him enough to try and get a sensible person on the extraction team.

But of course he knew damn well that Toni was better than that, and he should know better than to think she would lose at all. Green quickly banished the thought as the battle started, Jack practically seething with anger and Toni just grinning smugly.

"Houndour, burn this brat's pokemon to ashes!" Jack snapped.

 _"No I won't."_ Houndour said.

Jack didn't appear to understand, unlike every other Deviant. Green wasn't entirely sure, but maybe it had something to do with his asshole personality. He'd read in some handbook (a Deviant one written by a non-Deviant, for some reason) that a Deviant needed to have some sort of connection to pokemon at be able to understand them, and Green felt that maybe that theory had been proven.

Like, just right now.

Or maybe they were lucky and Jack was an idiot.

Whatever it was, it was gonna make this battle a lot more interesting.

"Hey Faceless, mind sorting this moron out for me?" Toni asked, holding out the ball casually.

Faceless burst out of the pokeball and faced Houndour, her wings set into a classic bird-attack position.

 _"He's an ass, of course I'm gonna sort him out."_ the Pidgeotto growled. Or, well, did whatever the bird equivalent was.

"What the hell is wrong with that mutant bird's face?" Jack yelled.

 _" . . . I'll cut him to ribbons."_ Faceless corrected herself.

"I'm cool with that. Just leave his head intact." Toni agreed.

"And here I thought you couldn't get any more immature." Green muttered to himself.

"Don't squash the creativity."

Yeah, he had to give her that one. They could probably make a hurricane of puns with a head.

"Just don't get ahead of yourself." he said. Starting, of course, with that one.

Toni grinned at him.

"Fire Spin!" Jack interrupted.

As Green resisted the urge to make a _You Spin Me Right Round_ pun, Faceless shot up into the air to avoid the flames.

 _"Little help!"_ she called.

"Wing Attack!" Toni ordered.

"No Steel Cutter?" Green asked.

 _"That wouldn't work."_ Tick said, blinking innocently. _"Uncle Ice said revealing your best attack at the start is never a good idea."_

"Ice scares me sometimes." Green said.

" _Tick_ scares me sometimes." Toni told him.

"Uh, how?"

"Well-"

Something exploded in the battle and they quickly turned their attention back to it.

Faceless swung around in mid-air, creating a sort of tailwind that wasn't quite an actual Tailwind, which blew Houndour's flames back.

The fire hit Houndour in the face. Then the fire disappeared.

"What." Green said.

"Flash Fire?" Toni guessed.

"That's not like any Flash Fire I've ever seen!" he cried. "He just _ate the fire_!"

 _"No I didn't."_ Houndour called to them.

"Snarl!" Jack ordered, irritated. Probably because Toni and Green refused to actually focus on the battle.

Houndour snarled very loudly, and the force of the sound drove Faceless back a few inches.

"Hah!" the asshole shouted. "You think you can win? Houndour's never lost a battle, and he isn't gonna lose this one!"

 _"Yes I will."_

"Does he disagree with _everything_?" Toni whispered to Green, who shrugged.

Faceless swooped down a shot a Gust at Houndour. The Dark/Fire type took a step back to try and take it, but he wasn't exactly heavy- so even though he dug his claws in, Houndour ended up getting blown off his feet.

Yes, literally.

Stop sniggering.

"Get another Wing Attack in!" Toni called.

 _"Eat my feathers, dog-breath!"_ Faceless taunted, flying too quickly to be seen by anyone who wasn't adjusted to her speed.

Houndour tried to dodge, completely ignoring Jack's dumb order to attack, and got clipped on the leg.

He tripped over and landed on his face, and didn't get back up.

" . . . What?" Jack said, after a few seconds of silence. "Why aren't you getting up?"

"Because he's beaten?" Green suggested. "Return the poor thing and send out your next pokemon."

"He's not beaten!" Jack fumed loudly. "He's just- resting."

"Right, sure, and the fact that he's not reacting to your annoying voice does nothing to say otherwise." Toni snarked.

Jack growled and returned his Houndour, muttering to himself. No doubt insults about Toni and Green, but so long as he actually sent out his next pokemon, whatever.

Green wasn't entirely sure how powerful his Quilava was, and Toni didn't have any Water or Ground types. Or Rock types, for that matter. But seeing how well Faceless was doing, he could guess that she'd keep her in.

At this point in time, in terms of pure power (and also not counting Sparkless), Faceless was her best pokemon. Also speed, but that was a given considering how fast the Pidgey line was. Nameless, no offence to him or his species, was kind of crappy in the situation, mostly because he was a Grass type. Lifeless currently didn't have any good attacks, but Toni was in the process of teaching him Shadow Ball.

Hopeless was more or less the kind of pokemon you sent in if you wanted the opponent shredded.

Without basically cheating and using Sparkless to obliterate Jack, Faceless was Toni's best bet.

And so when he sent out his Quilava, and Toni kept her Pidgeotto in, Green wasn't surprised at all.

He was surprised, however, at the heated glare they recieved from Quilava.

 _"You dare mock Master?"_ he snarled.

"Oh Mew." Toni groaned. "It's one of those pokemon that take the loyalty thing way too seriously."

 _"I'll make you pay! You, and any who you associate with, will pay for your insol-"_

 _"_ Wing Attack to your face _!"_ Faceless interrupted.

It took Quilava a few seconds to stop bouncing across the battlefield.

"Flamethrower!" Jack snapped out. "Burn that mutant bird, dammit!"

 _"As you command!"_

 _That porcupine needs to get a life,_ Green thought.

Fortuntely it didn't seem like Quilava had very good aim, so the attack mostly went wide and it was fairly easy for Faceless to avoid it- which she did so, looking incredibly bored.

Of course, a pokemon like her would want a better challenge than a maybe-deranged Quilava.

"Hit the damn thing already!" Jack shouted. "We can't lose this!"

And he got increasingly more asshole-ish as time went by. Perfect.

In both senses of the word.

The flames on Quilava's back disappeared for a split second, and then erupted into a frenzy. From what Green knew, if a Quilava did that, it meant they were getting ready to boost their power.

Funny thing about the Cyndaquil line, they could use a small portion of their Blaze ability even if they were at full health. Toothless had never shown any signs of being able to do the same thing, so Green (along with everyone else) assumed it was only an ability native to the Cyndaquil line.

No, he wasn't worried. Not _that_ worried, anyway. But if the flames turned blue or even white, that meant the real Blaze had activated and they would be in serious trouble.

But Toni already knew that, because even if she was crap at Science (though for some reason amazing at Chemistry, but she did like blowing things up), she knew pokemon like the back of her own hand. So she knew what the danger of the fake-Blaze was.

"Facey, be careful!" Toni called, proving him right. "He'll be more powerful now, fake-Blaze is a fucking annoying ability but it's useful!"

"How do you know about that?" Jack demanded. "It's only something owners of the Cyndaquil line know about!"

"Oh my Arceus," Green said, looking at him. "You actually _are_ thicker than you look."

Jack shouted in rage and ordered a full-blast Flamethrower.

Crap.

"Thanks for getting him pissed enough to burn everything." Toni scoffed.

"Just pay attention to the battle."

"Like you ever do." Toni turned back to the battle nonetheless. "Alright, Faceless, Steel Cutter! Blow the flames away!"

 _"It doesn't work like that!"_ Faceless cried, as she narrowly avoided getting her tail feathers scorched.

"Make it work then!"

Faceless paused mid-air, considering that. She shrugged and started to build up the attack, and then the fire reached her.

Toni screamed almost as loudly as Faceless did. The boosted Flamethrower continued for a few seconds, and then it abrupty cut off.

And Faceless's charred and shriveled corpse fell to the ground.

Moments passed in complete silence, as everyone tried to process that. Even Quilava had stopped, looking confused.

 _" . . . Did I . . . do that?"_ he whispered.

Then it was like he'd broken the spell.

"Why did you do that!?" Toni shrieked. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?"

"I-I . . . I didn't-" Jack began.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP, YOU FUCKING- YOU- _YOU_ -"

"Toni, calm down-" Green tried.

Toni whirled on him. "YOU TOO!" she screamed. "SHUT UP!"

Even Sparkless was shocked to silence.

Green gently placed Tick on the ground, giving him a soft pat. Sparkless floated down to the baby and for that Green was grateful, but right now his priority was Toni.

Who was starting to spark violently.

"Just calm down, alright?" he said. "Toni?"

"STOP SAYING MY NAME! JUST FUCKING SHUT UP- AND YOU, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT GOING _ANYWHERE_!"

Jack froze from where he'd been trying to sneak away. Quilava was already in his ball presumably, so that just left him to face Toni's wrath alone.

"You." Toni hissed, terrifyingly quiet now. "I'd ask if you know what you just did, but you wouldn't even give a fuck. WOULD YOU!?"

"I'm sorry, okay?" Jack cried. His voice was annoyingly high-pitched in fear. "But it's just a stupid mutant bird, get over it!"

That was the wrong thing to say.

"Just a stupid mutant bird." Toni repeated dully. "Just . . . a stupid mutant bird."

"Yeah, so if you would just chill-"

"THE FUCK I WILL, YOU OVERCONFIDENT, ARROGANT, FUCKFACED, RETARDED ASSWHIPE OF A HUMAN BEING!" Toni screeched. By now the sparks lighting up her body were almost consuming her, and Green took a couple of steps away in case he got burned. " _YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE A DEVIANT_! YOU CAN'T EVEN LOOK AFTER YOUR MOTHERFUCKING POKEMON PROPERLY, YOU CUNT!"

She screamed again, wordlessly, and Green could hear as well as feel her rage and her despair.

And then the electricity coursing all over her body suddenly shot up into the sky, striking a few small clouds.

Several seconds passed in tense silence, and just when Green had begun to think that it was over, it all came back from the clouds.

But the beam of lightning that struck Toni was massive, more like a Thunder Beam only less refined and more jagged, uncontrolled. She practically vanished inside of it, and only her screams of rage told Green that she was even still there.

 _"Oh shit."_ Sparkless said.

Yeah, that just about summed it up.

Green suddenly got a flash of intent, and it made him wince- before the intent vanished from his mind, he latched onto the images and saw a burnt and mangled corpse.

It wasn't Faceless. It wasn't even Quilava.

It was Jack.

Despite how much this went against his instincts to let her do what she wanted (because getting between a pissed-off Toni and her objective was never, ever a good idea), Green Teleported.

Right between her and Jack.

He only had seconds, so Green flung up his hands, heard Jack cry out in terror as the not-Thunder Beam shifted like it was about to fire, and threw up two dozen Light Screen and Reflect shields.

Also four or five Barriers for added protection.

Toni flung the entire boosted Thunder Beam at him, which Green could forgive because she didn't even know he was there, protecting the asshole who ordered the murder of Faceless.

The Thunder Beam hit the shields, and broke just about every single one of them. When the Beam finally faded away into a few sparks, and then broke off completely, Green only had a flickering Barrier shield left.

It hurt. Keeping all those shields up through that Thunder Beam, that is. He could hardly stand, nevermind keep the flickering shield up. Speaking of, he quickly shut that down and lowered his arms, swaying on his feet.

Toni didn't seem to notice, and she gave him a look that could melt lead- her eyes still crackling with the lighting. "Why did you do that?" she demanded. "Why'd you protect a bastard like _him_!?"

"No one . . . deserves . . . to die." Green managed. "Not for . . . a-a mistake."

"HE DID IT ON PURPOSE!"

"I didn't-"

"SHUT UP!"

Jack shut up.

"Toni." Green begged. "Calm- calm down."

It didn't seem to be working, and the sparking started up again. If he didn't calm her down in the next few seconds, she'd fire off another boosted Thunder Beam.

Green didn't think he could manage that many shields again.

"Please." he said.

Toni froze.

She blinked slowly.

And the lighting in her eyes vanished with a faint _crackle._

"W-what . . ." she began. Then Toni stopped, saw Green almost about to faint, and made a strange high-pitched sound.

She collapsed onto her knees, hands over her mouth, and started crying.

Green forced himself forward a few steps and then used whatever was left of his power to Teleport himself over to her. He crouched down and wrapped his arms around his best friend, his Arceus-dammed sister.

"I . . . I'm a horrible person." Toni whispered. "I tried to- oh my Mew, I tried to kill you . . ."

"You tried to kill Jack." Green murmured back. "I just got in the way."

Toni didn't reply and just whimpered, curling up into herself. Tick and Sparkless came over and prodded her gently, and she grabbed both of them, hugging them to her chest. Neither minded, and Green certainly didn't.

Then he felt another intent, or something along those lines, and narrowed his eyes.

 _ **DON'T.**_

Jack froze. He was half-way to the treeline already, but Green had stopped him in his tracks.

 _ **Don't you dare,**_ Green told him without even looking up from Toni. _**If you even think of walking away from this . . . allow me to refer you to what just happened not one minute ago.**_

Jack didn't reply, but he was scared out of mind.

 _ **But if I were you, I would never forget this. The murder you just caused . . . the pain you just caused. Let this be the first thing you think of in the morning, and the last thing you think of when you go to bed.**_

 _ **You'll never get a good night's sleep again.**_

 _ **I'll make sure of it.**_

 _ **But if you must leave . . . remember this.**_

 _ **Faceless. That was her name. She was abandoned for having a birth mark that covered her entire face, and she was never angry at her parents. Instead she channeled her energy into becoming the strongest pokemon she could be, even inventing her own combination attack. Faceless was a good friend.**_

 _ **And you, you selfish Swinub, murdered her.**_

 _ **Remember that.**_

Jack swallowed and wisely kept silent. He left quietly as well, while Green kept Toni's attention away from that general direction.

 **oooo**

Hours later, after Green had found a shovel, they buried Faceless under the oldest tree they could find.

She'd told them once that she loved old trees more than beautiful trees, because the old age showed wisdom and tranquility. Faceless may have been a fighter at heart, but she did like that kind of stuff.

Green wasn't sure how wise or tranquil this tree was, but from what he could feel, it was one of the oldest trees in the entire forest.

They marked the grave with a blue-grey stone that Amethyst had gotten from the Union Cave Geodudes, who came to pay their respects and offer their condolences for Toni. Their teams huddled together, murmuring a prayer that Nameless had found on a religious site when he'd been in the lab- they may not have believed in it, but it was helping the younger pokemon cope, and in some way it was helping the older ones as well.

Twin was the only one who kept away from them. She was settled next to Toni, staring blankly at the stone that marked Faceless's grave.

Toni herself was slumped a couple of feet away from the tree, eyes red-rimmed and her arms wrapped around her legs. She was resting her chin on them.

Green sat down next to her. She hardly reacted.

Several moments passed, the only sounds being the soft murmurs of the prayer and the quiet and solemn movements in the bushes from the wild pokemon. No doubt the Union Cave Geodudes had told the locals, so they were being quiet out of respect.

" . . . Green?" Toni suddenly whispered.

She sounded broken. Scared. So unlike the Toni he knew.

Green looked at her. "What is it?" he asked gently.

"I . . ." Toni trailed off like she didn't know how to word it, and then started up again. "I wanna cut my hair."

Green jerked back slightly. He calmed himself down quickly. "Why?" he asked her.

"I don't know. I just . . . feel like a change." Toni said, not taking her eyes off the stone.

Anyone else might have lied and said it was gonna be okay, that she'd get over it eventually . . .

But Green wasn't anyone else, and he had never lied to Toni before.

He wasn't going to start now.

Instead, he just sat by her and said nothing. He knew she was grateful.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Okay, even I wasn't expecting that. Where did that even come from?

Green: Holy shit.

Renny: No, really, _where_?

Green: Holy shit.

Renny: Okay, I think he's broken. When I was on about the Mood Whiplash thing, I was actually on about Faceless's death and then something totally random afterwards. The first half of this chapter just came out of nowhere . . . And that's actually exactly how Faceless died in the HG game, the rival's Quilava killed her. Then I sent in Nameless to finish the damn thing off, which might have been a bad idea had he not taken it down with a Crit. I like to think of that as revenge. Read and review, please.


	9. Chapter 9- The Reality Hotel

Renny: This one's gonna have a lot of random stuff in it, and also Toni's gonna be weird for a little bit. I'm not sure for how long, I can't really write her any other way than what she's like right now, but . . . details.

Green: You can't just say 'details' everytime something happens and it doesn't make sense.

Renny: Details.

Green: But-

Renny: De. Tails.

Green: Fine.

Renny: Disclaimer now!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

Twintera had been accused of murder.

Specifically, the murder of a Spearow by the name of Ruth- she had been a First Class Guard in the Spearow flock, and she was dead.

But Twintera didn't do it, of course.

It had been a Trainer clad in red, loud and arrogant. Ruth had enlisted Twintera's help, for she knew better than any bird how to deal with unruly humans. It was fairly standard, because the Pidgey flock came across humans more often and Twintera's skills were particularly exclusive towards driving them out.

However, the fight hadn't gone their way. The Trainer, at the time simply known as a Tamer for Twintera didn't know any better, had attacked with a powerful Flying dinosaur. It had been ruthless and had almost killed the both of them at the order of its Tamer.

Ruth had pushed Twintera out of the way, and had taken the brunt of the claws.

Twintera had tried to save Ruth, tried to drag her away, but that only made her injuries worse and the Spearow died before she could even get her halfway to the Healers.

And of course, the flocks had found them. Had found Twintera, covered in blood. Had assumed she had murdered Ruth in cold blood.

Had ordered her execution upon capture.

 _I dedicate my heart . . ._

 _"I did not do it!"_ Twintera had cried, backing away in terror. _"This- this was not me, it was the work of a Tamer!"_

 _"You think us simple?"_ one of the Spearows demanded. _"The evicence is clear, sure as the day bleeds into the night!"_

 _"Murderer!"_ another cawed.

 _. . . to the restoriation of my flock._

 _Too long have humans weakened us, taken away our strongest fighters._

 _No more._

 _We will grow strong, we will train. Then we will show the humans that they cannot,_ will not _, steal us from our home. They cannot trick us into believing that a life with a Tamer is the 'better option'._

 _We will not leave our homelands. We will not leave our skies._

 _No more._

 _"But I did not do it!"_

 _"MURDERER!"_

 _"Seize her!"_ the leader Spearow snapped.

Her own flock had joined the chase, and for two long, terrifying weeks, Twintera had been on the run. A fugitive in her own forest.

They had almost caught her several times, but Twintera had been trained to be the Queen of the entire flock- and as such, she was too fast, too cunning, for them.

Once they had cornered her, but she had fought her way out. Through sheer luck Twintera managed to escape, and then, that very same day . . .

She had quite literally crashed into the life of her new team.

She still hadn't told them what she was on the run for of course, but sometimes Twintera slipped up, mentioned places or names (or, sometimes, her full title).

And yet none of them asked or demanded for answers. Ice, perhaps, was a little brash- but even he didn't demand she tell him anything. Not outright, anyway.

Then, several days later, Twintera had seen the Tamer- no, the Trainer- who was responsible for the death of Ruth. Any other pokemon would have instantly lost their minds, would have attacked the arrogant little shit (as Ice would say) of a human.

But Twintera was a logical bird. She knew she couldn't defeat that monster of a Flying pokemon this human owned. So she did nothing and pretended she'd never seen him before in her live.

However, Twintera did do one thing.

She decided to bide her time, wait until she was powerful enough- when she was a Pidgeot, to be precise. Then she would undoubtably have the power to take on this human.

But then Faceless died.

Faceless, who had tried to help her with her training, no matter how many times Twintera refused. Mainly because of her birthmark and the grey streaks that marked her out as an outcast.

Outcasts . . . were not typically a type of bird her flock associated themselves with. Nor did the Spearow flock, for that matter.

However, this particular outcast didn't seem to harbour no ill will towards Twintera for her biased views. Instead she just ignored it and tried her best to teach Twintera those 'combo attacks' that the others were learning.

Twintera refused, because she believed she did not need to stoop to such levels. She wanted to defeat the Flying dinosaur exactly how she had met it- with no special moves, just plain and simple attacks, and sheer power.

 _"Hyah!" Crack._

It was only now, after Faceless's death, that Twintera saw the truth.

 _"Hii . . . yah!" Crack-ack._

To become stronger, to be truly powerful, Twintera had to let go of her way of thinking. She couldn't hold onto such nonsense if she wanted to become powerful enough to defeat the monster that had killed Ruth, or to defeat the human in red who had ordered the attack in the first place.

 _"Grr-ah!"_ _ **Shink**_ _-crack._

 _I once dedicated my heart to the restoration of my flock._

 _But I am no longer a part of that flock- that part of myself is dead, because of that human and his Flying dinosaur._

 _And so . . . I take a new name, and take a new mission._

 _I, Twin, dedicate my heart to fullfill my fellow bird's dream. She wished to be the strongest, and did not bother herself with petty differences. She opened her mind and kept it open._

 _I will now do the same._

 _I will become stronger._

 _Perhaps it shall not be today, but . . ._

 _I will become strong enough to defeat the Flying dinosaur and its Trainer._

"Twin, c'mon, we're leaving!"

Twin looked up. Green was waving to her, not even looking surprised that her wings were still shining with the Steel Cutter attack.

 _"I am coming. Do not fear."_ Twin said, and opened her wings and flew to her team.

 **oooo**

"I never expected snow." Toni said, trudging through the thick white sheet that was now covering pretty much all of Ilex Forest.

"It's like the tail end of December, what did you expect?" Green muttered.

They were both fairly cold, and once again Green had to wonder how the hell Rena did it. She was the only person he knew, and this was counting even Fire and Ice types, who could walk around in minus-whatever temperatures in nothing but shorts, a shirt and absolutely no shoes or even socks.

Her excuse for the shoes and socks was that she hated stuff on her feet, but what her excuse was for the rest of it, Green did not know at all.

He was also slightly jealous because he was freezing his ass off and he was wearing maybe twice what Rena normally did. Toni was the same as him as well.

But she was only complaining about the snow, not the cold. She loved snow, just when she was indoors and not trudging through it in the middle of a forest, possibly lost.

Normally Toni would complain about the cold as well.

But, well . . . things weren't exactly normal anymore. Or as normal as things could get.

Green had to admit that this was kind of a morbid and selfish thing to think, but if anything good came out of Faceless's death, it was the fact that his telepathy and mind-reading power seemed to be perfectly fine now.

He could hold entire conversations with someone just by using that.

And yet, even if that was cause for him to be happy, Green wasn't about to mention it. Maybe in a few days' time, when Toni had gotten over it.

Well, not gotten over it. Not like that, no one could get over the death of a friend. But she could move on, and . . .

You get the point. She wouldn't forget Faceless but she wouldn't be sad about her.

Probably.

Of course, the fact that Green sometimes involuntarily caught some of her nightmares made that slightly redundant.

Moving on now . . .

"Yeah but, this is the kind of crap we never see in England, remember?" Toni kicked away a stray bit of hard snow that refused to get off her shoes. "Normally it's just thunderstorms and weirdness, and when we do get snow, it's never around Christmas- nevermind New Years- and it's always at the worst possible time. Like when no one's prepared for it and it makes half the country panic and the other half just stand there gormlessly."

"And it makes a small section of the country laugh at the stupidity of the others." Green added. "Which is what we do."

"When we're not walking through it."

"Fair enough."

 _Cyuuuh!_

 _"What was that?"_ Tick asked, looking up at the sky- which was dark and kind of overcast.

 _"Anyone asks me, it sounds like a bird of some kind."_ Ice said. He glanced at Twin. _"Obviously not a Pidgeotto though."_

 _"Naturally."_ Twin answered cooly. She'd been more mellow ever since, well, yeah, and it seemed everyone had noticed. But no one said anything and no one took advantage of it.

Well, they weren't exactly those kinds of people or pokemon, of course.

Something flashed ahead, above the trees. The cry came again, and Green thought he saw a tail, brilliantly blue and almost like ice- but waving like a banner.

 _"Please, please be friendly."_ Hopeless whispered.

 _"If it's not friendly can I shoot it down or something because I haven't had a battle in a couple of days can I please shoot it down please please?"_ Sparkless begged.

"Only if it actually isn't friendly." Green told him.

 _"Given our luck, that's almost certain."_ Nameless sighed.

"Way to be optimistic." Toni congratualted him sarcastically.

Another cry, and this time Green actually saw what was making them.

"That's an Articuno." he said, somewhat surprised. "Why is that an Articuno?"

 _"Maybe it migrated."_ Hopeless suggested.

Everyone looked at her.

 _" . . . I'm kidding."_ the Furret eventually admitted.

"Oh thank Arceus." Toni said. "But why is there an Articuno here, of all places? I mean, this piece of shit forest don't even compare to some of the ones we've been too, and that's even counting snow-covered ones."

A Weedle on a nearby tree glared at her.

"No offence." Toni told it.

 _"A lot taken."_ it huffed, and crawled away with a sour look on its face.

 _"Making friends,"_ Lifeless deadpanned. _"Everywhere we go, just making friends."_

"For a Ghost, you're awfully cynical." Green told him.

 _"I do try."_

 _"Hey, if anyone's interested, the giant Ice bird is coming this way."_ Ice announced.

They all looked up and sure enough, the Articuno was descending slowly.

Upon landing, the Articuno kicked up some of the snow, but it all disappeared with a careless wave of the great bird's wing before anything could hit the team.

"Greetings." it said. "I am Catori. In this reality I appear to be what you call an Articuno, a great bird of ice and snow."

 _"Reality?"_ Twin repeated, confused.

Instead of answering, the Articuno, Catori, turned until she was looking at them over her shoulders.

"Come. You look cold." she said. "I will take you to a warm place."

Catori opened her great wings and flew slowly, glancing back to check they were following.

Green and Toni shared a glance, looked around at their team, and followed her. Despite the fact that Green couldn't seem to get a reading on Catori. Oh well. Worst come to worst they could always blow stuff up on the way out.

 _"Why are we following an Articuno? Has everyone gone insane? Again?"_ Ice demaned. He followed them anyway.

Green didn't bother to mention that everytime he said that, someone (mostly Green) always replied something along the lines of 'never said we were sane' (again, mostly Green).

They seemed to say that a lot.

Catori led them through the forest, which generally brought out even more complaints- not just from Toni anymore, everyone was complaining now.

And then they came to a large clearing where there was a mansion-like hotel. It was white, and so clean that at first Green had trouble believing it was even there. Then he did a check for holograms and such and found nothing, so yeah, it was real.

But it was so _clean_. How in the hell could a hotel like that not get dirty in a place like this?

The Articuno landed in front of the steps leading to the front doors, and tilted her head towards them.

" . . . Well, it's better than staying out in the cold." Toni said.

 _"For all we know, an axe-murderer could be waiting for us."_ Nameless replied.

 _"What's an axe-murderer?"_ Hopeless asked.

 _"Uh."_

"Yeah, moving on." Green muttered.

 _"We're not going in there. I'm with Nameless."_ Ice snapped, folding his arms.

"Oh come on, we're cold and it's snowing and we're most likely lost."

 _"You have that GP2 thing. I don't think it's physically possible for us to get lost."_

Green shrugged, making a big show of it. "Well, we could be lost in our _minds_ . . ."

Ice stared at him.

Green stared back.

Several seconds passed.

"Oh fine, we're not lost." Green eventually admitted. "But no one here can use Fire attacks- as far as I'm aware- and we _are_ cold. So, we go into the mansion."

Apparently that decided it, because none of the wild-born pokemon (except maybe Lifeless) knew what a hotel even was. Green made a quick mental note to try and teach them as much about civilisation as he could so they wouldn't be so confused or left out of a decision again.

They walked in, past Catori, who watched them as they passed. It was kind of unnerving to see a giant blue bird stare at you unblinkingly.

The lobby was massive and posh, which again led Green to wonder how in the hell this place was so clean, and at the front desk there was a big man with long hair and a kind of serious-but-kind face. He could have been someone's father or something.

"Hello." the man said. His voice was warm and strong. "My name is Tonio Quake. You have already met my assistant, the Spirit Catori."

"Spirit?" Toni blinked, glancing back at Catori as she walked in after them.

The doors shut without anyone touching anything. Oh crap.

"No need to fear, children." Tonio Quake told them, smiling slightly. "You are guests in the Reality Hotel."

 _"What the hell is this weirdo place?"_ Hopeless muttered.

"This 'weirdo place', as you put it, is essentially a traveling hotel." Tonio explained. "It is called the Reality Hotel because it transcends reality itself. Or, in you would prefer, the boundries of dimensions and such."

"Wow, I didn't think I was this crazy." Green muttered.

Then he paused. Wait, had this Tonio dude just-

 _"You understood me?"_ Hopeless gaped.

"All creatures speak the same language, regardless of species, in my hotel." Tonio said. "Come. Catori will prepare your room, and I will show you around this hotel- if you wish, of course?"

 _"How are we to know if you wish not to harm us?"_ Twin asked suspiciously.

 _"The lady is correct."_ Lifeless agreed. _"You could turn on us."_

 _"Cannibal!"_ Tick cried happily.

Green looked at him. Okay, how did he know that word? He caught a quick flash of guilt from Ice and glared at the Croconaw, who looked startled. Clearly he hadn't expected Green to pick up on that.

"I will not turn on you, nor shall I eat you." Tonio replied calmly. "Have no fear, little one."

 _"He's funny. I like him. Can we stay here?"_ Tick asked, glancing up at Green.

"Um . . . I'm- I'm not so sure anymore . . ."

Eventually they just agreed to take the tour of the place, and they would deal with whatever came their way as it came to them. Tonio took them to a large room which Green assumed was the dining hall, but there was just a bunch of empty tables and no food or even customers or whatever.

"Most of my guests are in their rooms at this time." Tonio explained. "Some prefer to eat in their rooms, not leaving until we get to where they wish to be."

 _"It's a building."_ Amethyst commented, confused. _"How can you get anywhere?"_

"It is called the Reality Hotel for a reason."

"Wait." Toni said, holding up a hand like she was in class- despite the fact that none of them had ever actually been to school in their lives. "Is this place like the Midnight Hotel from _Skulduggery Pleasant_?"

"I would not know." Tonio told her.

"Cus if it is, I think I got some idea of how it moves."

Green was pretty much the only one who didn't stare at her like they hadn't expected this, besides Sparkless who was a bit too busy shrieking about the glass torch-things on the walls.

 _"Please, elaborate."_ Ice deadpanned.

"Okay, so basically every twelve hours- so like, at midday or midnight- the Midnight Hotel would kind of break apart and appear somewhere else in the world. The people inside don't feel anything but a tremble, and the people outside see the entire hotel literally coming apart. Or if they're watching it appear, they're watching it come up from nothing." Toni explained. "It can appear anywhere on the planet. Is this Reality Hotel like that?"

"I am impressed." Tonio said, eyesbrows raised in mild surprise. "You have described how we move perfectly. However, we do not just appear on any part of this world- the clue is, forgive me for being patronising, in the name. This hotel can go between, through and into any reality or dimension that I or my assistant- Catori- chose."

 _"That's impossible!"_ Ice cried.

 _"It breaks the laws of physics."_ Nameless breathed. _"It breaks the laws of_ everything _."_

"That it does. If you still are not convinced, I could, perhaps, show you how this hotel's ability works." Tonio offered.

 _"I'm good."_ Hopeless said lazily. _"I'd rather just leave it as a mystery, it's more fun like that."_

 _"That does have more of an appeal."_ Twin agreed.

Catori flew into the room gracefully and then unceramoniously grabbed Sparkless in her talons and chucked him over to Toni, who stumbled slightly in catching him.

"Their room is ready." the Articuno said to Tonio.

Tonio nodded his thanks and turned to the group. "Those who wish to see how our hotel works can stay with me. Any who wishes to keep it- as you say- a mystery, please follow Catori to your room." he instructed.

In the end, Twin, Lifeless, Hopeless, Amethyst and Sparkless went off with Catori, leaving Green, Toni, Tick, Ice and Nameless to go with Tonio.

He led them through the different corridors, showing them around the hotel as they went. There was a living room with all sorts of technology that Green didn't understand, the kitchen (where staff who looked like characters out of _Percy Jackson_ worked, which at least helped convince him and Toni that this place was trans-dimensional), and a few other rooms.

They eventually came to a single door. Compared to the rest of the grand, gold-plated doors, this one was just plain and boring. Also wooden. As far as any of them could tell, the rest of the hotel was made from some brick or whatever that was possibly from some other reality.

Tonio opened it and led them through first, bowing politely.

Inside, Green's mouth dropped.

The door may have been unimpressive, but the room itself was anything but.

It was almost like the kind of world Green and Toni had found themselves in when they'd gone into Kanto's firewalls and copied some of their files. Somehow Green could tell it was still a room, despite the fact that the stars and the blackness seemed to go on forever- and in the middle of the room, there was a bright ball of purple light surrounded by independantly rotating rings with strange sybols that seemed to be etched onto them.

The rings were also purple, and even as Green watched, he could feel the power coming from the ball of light. Also . . . something else. A pull. He couldn't explain it.

"This is the source of our dimension-hopping power." Tonio explained quietly, stepping up beside them. "Mainly it is self-repairing, but one of our staff- who is actually from this world, I believe- helps to recharge it when the need arises. Hoopa, we have guests!"

The ball pulsed for a moment, and then it dimmed- but not very much, and then a strange purple pokemon floated out of it.

She- and somehow Green knew that without even hearing her voice- barely spared the 'guests' a look and instead gave Tonio the most unimpressed look on the planet.

 _"I was in the middle of recharging the Source."_ Hoopa said, folding her arms. _"And you interrupt me for two Johtoian kids, beginners at that?"_

 _"How did she know-"_ Ice began, but Hoopa whirled on him.

 _"Shut up, crocodile!"_ Hoopa snapped. _"I could tell you a million things about you and they would all be completely accurate. Now shut up."_

Well, she got the Johtoian thing wrong, but Green didn't correct her on that. Incognito. He quickly told Toni (using his telepathy) not to say a word, because he knew she wouldn't be able to resist.

"Hoopa, please." Tonio said. "They simply wished to know how our hotel maintained it's ability to travel between, through and into different realities."

 _"Oh, la-dee-dah."_ Hoopa muttered. _"Well, they've seen it. Now get them out, I'm at a very delicate stage. Out. Out, out, out, out."_

 **oooo**

"She certainly wasn't very nice." Toni scoffed, sometime later in their room.

 _"Maybe if you hadn't interrupted her?"_ Amethyst said.

"Eh, Tonio showed us, can't exactly fault us for something her boss did."

The room was a three bed thing, so Green and Toni got one and the pokemon (minus Tick, who wanted to be with his mama) split the other two between them.

It was big, just like every other room in the place, but it wasn't as fancy as Green had been expecting- maybe it was because they were kids and Catori, who was apparently a Spirit which changed forms when in different realities, had chosen this specifically for them.

But that wasn't what he was thinking about.

No, he was thinking about the pull he'd felt in the Source room. It hadn't been to the big ball of pulsing light, no, Green would know if he was drawn to that. But . . . he didn't know what else he could have been drawn to. And it wasn't just that room either.

It was weird. This place didn't seem bad or anything, yet Green felt something.

It was as if this entire hotel was connected to him somehow.

"Green, yo!"

Toni chucked a pillow at his head, and Green threw it back- reinforced with a Confusion, of course. The force sent Toni flying off the bed.

 _"You two are the most violent friends I've ever seen in my entire life."_ Ice commented.

"Yeah? What's your point?" Green asked.

 _"There apparently isn't one."_

"You're paying attention, great!" Toni exclaimed, popping back onto the bed. "I asked you a question."

"And that is . . .?"

"When do we get food."

 _"Also how long do we get to stay here because this place this place is awesome I love this place seriously there's so much weird energy and it's AWESOME."_ Sparkless giggled.

 _"This isn't suddenly a dictatorship, right?"_ Amethyst asked. _"Because Nameless told me about this one man, um, Hitler or something, and he was . . . evil."_

"Why would this suddenly be a dictatorship?" Green frowned.

 _"Oh, it's just . . . no offence, but everyone seems to be looking at you to make the decisions."_

"Oh." Green blinked. "Uh. I didn't notice. And in the future, this is not a dictatorship and even if it was, I would not be in charge. I'm a shit leader."

 _"Mama would be a great leader!"_ Tick protested.

"Thank you for your loyalty, but I'm not, really."

 _"Kid's right, he isn't."_ Ice instantly agreed.

Green refrained from commenting.

Hopeless looked like she was about to do the honours instead, and they were all saved by Tonio opening the door and looking at them all calmly.

"Supper is being served in the dining room, if you wish to join us." he informed them. "I also wished to inform you of the special offer we currently have. Rione- the head cook- calls it the New Years Special."

"We don't have much money, so if this is some sort of extension deal . . ." Green began, slightly wary.

"Oh, no, not at all- quite the opposite in fact." Tonio gave them a small and gentle smile. "The deal, basically put, is a week's stay in this hotel. Four days are for free, however, for the rest of the time you will need to pay. But we do not charge much here."

Then he paused. Green wasn't sure what made him say what he said next, but somehow he got the impression that it was probably Toni. Maybe he could see the sadness that still lingered.

"However, recently we have added in a special offer for children. You can spend a week in this hotel, six days free of charge, and one more for half price. If you so wish." Tonio said.

"Wow, really?" Toni grinned. "Thanks, Mr Quake!"

"Please, call me Tonio." he chuckled, bowing politely.

He'd already told them that one night in the hotel was free for anyone- Tonio understood that, in the majority of realities, most people (or occasionally otherwise) who came into the hotel didn't have the money to pay for a night, but needed a place to rest.

So, one night free. Food was also free, which was great, and this deal thing added in one more reason why they should stay.

And no, it wasn't mainly because Green was still trying to figure out why he felt a pull to this place.

At least they could afford the half price thing.

Supper turned out to be a fairly interesting affair, since pretty much every single guest wasn't from their own reality. Not one of them knew anything about this one though, and they were all pretty interested in what Green and Toni had to say about it.

Toni and Sparkless were enjoying the spotlight, telling one kind-of-maybe-not heroic tale of their missions after another. Ice and Nameless had found some friends among the sciencey-type creatures, and were explaining something to do with how Grass types photosynthesised, with some examples from Nameless himself.

Lifeless and the other wild-caught pokemon were listening to some of the stories the other guests had to tell, and Tick was with them.

And Green?

Well, he didn't really like crowds much. So he found himself a table in the corner and ate his food quietly, keeping an eye on his and Toni's pokemon in case someone got the idea to try and pokenap one of them.

 _"Not gonna join the party?"_ someone asked.

Green glanced up. Hoopa was floating in front of him, looking bored but somehow he knew that didn't mean she wasn't interested or anything.

"No." Green replied. "I don't like crowds much."

 _"Funny, since you're traveling with your entire teams out."_ Hoopa commented. She floated onto chair. _"You have four pokemon yourself, and your sister has four as well. Counting you two, that's ten- a crowd, if I'm not mistaken."_

"I'm fine when it's friends." Green explained. "And I can deal with it if I have to- like, we entered this talent show thing one time, nearly three weeks ago now. I could deal with it then, but that was only because we had to."

 _"You are an interesting creature."_ Hoopa said, studying him carefully. _"What I see tells me one thing, but what you say tells me another. You are a contradiction, boy. Congratulations, you've stumped me for the first time in centuries."_

"How _old_ are you?" Green asked, startled.

 _"Old enough."_

Well okay then.

Hoopa looked at the food he was eating, and glanced over at Toni.

 _"You don't appear to be eating any meat."_ she observed. _"Your sister is the opposite. Why is that?"_

"Oh, um, I'm vegetarian." Green said. "Toni- well, Toni loves meat. Chicken especially. Me and our friends sometimes joke that she'll become one if she keeps eating it. Noodles too, I guess, since she loves those just as much."

 _"I've never actually met a vegetarian before. I've met vegans, though. No idea what the difference is."_

Green smiled, amused. "Vegan's are the people that refuse to eat anything from pokemon- you know, like milk, eggs, meat, whatever. And they also never shut up about it. Vegetarians are the ones who just don't eat meat, everything else is fine." he explained.

 _"That would explain why Portia never shuts up about animal cruelty."_ Hoopa muttered.

Green had to laugh at that.

The week passed fairly quickly, and he was kind of happy to say that he was gonna miss the hotel. It was a nice place, and really, really cool.

He, Toni and their pokemon said bye to all of the guests (because somehow they'd all become friends in that time) and Green had a long chat with Hoopa before they left.

"I still don't get how you made friends with her." Toni said, as they went out the doors and down the steps. "I mean, she's kind of weird- like Sherlock Holmes, but genderbent and a pokemon."

"Maybe that's why we got along. Also she wanted to figure me out, so that might have been half of it." Green admitted.

They turned around and watched the hotel. Tonio had said that he would wait for their stay to be over before leaving, so they were gonna watch it disappear. After all, they both loved _Skulduggery Pleasant_ , and a hotel that was basically the Midnight Hotel but trans-dimensional was something right out of those books.

A couple of minutes passed, and then suddenly the entire hotel started to come apart before their eyes. Green heard some gasps, but he stayed quiet and watched as the hotel dismantled and vanished into thin air.

And then it was as if the hotel had never even existed to begin with.

 _"Wow."_ Ice said.

 _"That was cool!"_ Tick cried in delight. Pretty much everyone agreed with him.

 _"Aliens exist."_ Hopeless suddenly said. _"If stuff like this exists, then aliens exist as well."_

 _"Hopeless-"_ Ice began, already irritated.

 _"No one can tell me otherwise!"_

 _"I swear to Mew-"_

"And we're back to the weirdness of this world." Green smirked. "But she's right, you know. If other dimensions and realities exist, then aliens might not be too much of a stretch."

 _"Oh come on, not you too!"_

 _"It sound reasonable."_ Nameless agreed. _"Besides, our Trainers are basically superpowered human pokemon- I don't think we of all pokemon should be skeptics."_

 _"I can be skeptic if I want to be, because aliens don't exist!"_ Ice snapped.

Yep, back to their own weirdness.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Why yes, this is a filler chapter, why do you ask?

Green: They weren't.

Renny: I just wanted to say it. Or some variation. Anyway, I decided these two need a nice break after what happened with Faceless last chapter- also, character development for Twin! And we get to find out why she was on the run, although anyone who's read _Redemption_ would probably have already guessed why.

Green: I'm pretty sure anyone who's read this has read that.

Renny: Hush you. I've expanded the universe because why the hell not, and also because I wanted to add in Hoopa- and a guy based off Anton Shudder. Who is from _Skulduggery Pleasant_. Which I love.

Green: I think they get it.

Renny: Yup. Read and review!


	10. Chapter 10- Good Things Come in Threes

Renny: The filler was kinda nice, if anyone else actually liked it as well. Plus, we get to meet Hoopa, who is quickly becoming less of a weird pokemon and more of a I've-never-had-it-but-I-really-want-it pokemon.

Green: You have far too many of those.

Renny: One of them is Goodra, though I have no idea why . . . maybe it's because I don't know if Rain Dance'll work, and I can never seem to find a rainy spot quick enough to level a Sliggoo up. Oh well.

Green: It's Goldenrod now, right?

Renny: Yep- and just about three or four new pokemon for these two. Toni gets more new ones. Actually, now that I think about it, the majority of pokemon I have in _SS_ and _HG_ evolved fairly quickly. So, the evolutions in-story are gonna be really, really strange and random.

Green: We never even saw Twin's in _Redemption_ and it's the same here, what's the big deal?

Renny: There is none, apparently. Disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

Goldenrod city.

Home to one of the largest Department stores, besides the one in Hoenn obviously, and a fairly large city itself at that.

Even if Lumoise city was still the biggest.

It was also home to the second-largest Game Corner, otherwise known as a child-friendly casino. The largest Game Corner was, in fact, the one in Celdadon city, Kanto. That one had been the first ever built to actually allow anyone in (besides criminals, obviously) and was also one of the biggest on the entire planet.

The Goldenrod city Game Corner was a little smaller, but no less extravagant than the Celadon one. It got the latest games first, like a newer one called Voltorb Flip, which was apparently one of the most frustrating gambling games on the planet.

Green didn't understand how. He always won, and always managed to get himself banned because he kept winning at the 'Impossible Game'. He didn't even use his powers.

And the Goldenrod Game Corner was exactly where Toni was currently dragging him.

"Seriously, you're gonna pull my arm off, stop it." he said, half-heartedly.

"Oh come on, you love casinos!" Toni exclaimed.

"I keep getting chucked out of them, you mean."

 _"How does a twelve year old get chucked out of a casino?"_ Nameless asked.

"With alarming ease." Green answered flatly.

"He got chucked out of basically every casino in Dubai!" Toni announced happily. Maybe a little _too_ happily.

 _"How did you get chucked out of every casino in Dubai?"_ Ice demanded. _"How did you even get_ in _?"_

"With. Alarming. Ease."

 _"Mama likes to gamble?"_ Tick asked, looking up at Green.

"Uh . . . kind of?" Green tried to hedge around it, but then Toni gave him a massive tug and he nearly dropped Tick as he stumbled. He glared at the back of her head. "Yes, I do."

 _"Is that good or bad?"_

 _"Bad."_ Ice answered, drowning out Green's "No, not really."

Green glared at him.

 _"Why in the world are we even going to the Game Corner anyway?"_ Nameless asked.

"Because we ain't been to this one yet." Toni answered. "And besides, we'd probably end up here sooner or later- Green's got a damn casino-radar thing going on."

 _"Perks of being half Psychic?"_ Ice deadpanned.

"No." Green said defensively.

"I bet even if he wasn't a Deviant, he'd still have his casidar. Or . . . rasino? Um . . ."

"Toni, shut up!"

"Point is, I'd rather we just turn up here straight away and get the chucking-out over and done with." Toni went on anyway. "We can call Zo later and tell him he can add Goldenrod to the list."

 _"There's a_ list _?"_ Nameless looked incredibly worried now.

 _"Sure there's a list we've gotten kicked out of Dubai New York Las Vagas Egypt Russia pretty much half of Mexico also Texas and I think some of Ireland too the list goes on and on."_ Sparkless told them.

 _"Are there even casinos in Russia?"_ Nameless frowned.

"Well, if there weren't I'd be incredibly worried." Green said.

"Unless you were on an acid trip." Toni said.

"I think I'd know if I was tripping balls."

"How would you know?"

Green was silent for a second. "The fact that you ask raises enough questions. What did you do?"

"Nothing you can prove."

Ice and Nameless were speechless.

 _"Mama, I think you have a problem."_ Tick announced.

"Eh." Green shrugged, not really that bothered. "It's fun."

"And besides, adding Goldenrod to the list isn't my only reason." Toni said, as they finally came to the Game Corner.

She let go of Green's hand and he pulled it back, sighing and rubbing it. Sheesh, she really had a grip . . .

 _"There's more than one reason?"_ Ice's eye twitched. _"Why?"_

"The prizes." Toni explained, pointing at the Game Corner like that said everything. "I'm absolutely shit at this crap, but if Green works his magic in there, we'll get basically get nine thousand odd coins in four hours. Three if he doesn't have any breaks."

 _"That's not even possible, how-"_

"Dude, why are you still asking that?" Green sighed. "We've done enough weird stuff already, me getting a load of coins in a small amount of time is absolutely nothing."

 _"This is far from nothing!"_

"Right, let's go!" Toni called, marching towards the doors.

The bouncer stopped them almost instantly, and for a few horrifying seconds Green thought the rules of Game Corners had been changed and you couldn't get in unless you were an adult.

"Passes, please." the bouncer said.

Oh, for fuck's sake.

"Passes?" Toni demanded. "Since when do Game Corners need passes?"

"Since last year. Drunk people kept stumbling in, attracted by the pretty lights and such." the bouncer explained.

"You're likening drunk people to Venomoth?" Green frowned.

"Yes."

Well okay then.

"I'm assuming, since you didn't know about the rule, you don't have passes." the bouncer said. "You can buy some for half a million in the Department store."

"WHAT!?" Green and Toni shouted.

"I'm kidding, they're only ten thousand."

"That's still way too much!" Toni snapped.

"With good reason, I assure you." the bouncer said, shrugging. "Now if you don't mind, I have a job to do. I can't waste time with a couple of broke kids."

You know what? No. Fuck this.

Green took a few steps forward and waved his hand almost lazily. His eyes flashed purple and the bouncer's eyes went slightly blank for a few seconds, then he straightened up and his eyes cleared.

"My apologies." he said formally. "If you had shown me the passes to begin with, I wouldn't have caused you any issues. Please, go right in."

And so they did.

 _"Did . . . did that actually did happen?"_ Nameless breathlessly asked.

 _"Did we just break into a casino?"_ Ice snapped incredulously. _"We just_ broke into a casino _?"_

"Sort of." Green waved a hand in a fifty-fifty gesture. "I tricked him into thinking we'd shown him passes."

 _"Weren't you against this?"_ Nameless blinked.

"He pissed me off. Speaking of, Tick, don't resort to that if you can't get what you want. Just beat them up if you can help it." Green said.

"I think you're doing it wrong." Toni commented. "This is why you failed with Tiago."

"Tiago turned out fine."

"Tiago's a little shit."

Green couldn't exactly argue with that one.

They eventually came to the main room, where the action was taking place. It was bright and it was _amazing_ , and already Green was getting twitchy fingers.

"Told you." Toni said, and Green shoved her.

 _"What exactly do you want anyway?"_ Ice asked, as they made their way through the crowd.

"Oh, they sell pokemon as prizes here." Toni told him, nodding to a prize board as they went by it. "I want that one."

They paused and looked to where she was pointing.

 _"A Dratini."_ Nameless said. _"You . . . you want a Dratini."_

"Dratini are awesome."

 _"Dratini are expensive!"_ Ice snapped.

"I can get you two, if I have three or four hours." Green considered. "If you just want one, then you'll have a Dratini in the next one or two hours."

"Sweet! So, where to first?"

 _"Hey what if we tried the slot machines those are always a good start right right right?"_ Sparkless giggled.

"Good idea, if we went to the Voltorb Flip I'd just get us kicked out even faster. We'll go from the slots to the roulette, and work our way up from there if I get bored." Green said. "Anyone have any idea where the slots are?"

 _"Try asking!"_ Tick exclaimed.

Always a good start.

Eventually they found the slots, and Green sat down and did his job- Toni's was basically just refreshments, which she did without complaint this time because she was gonna get a Dratini in less than three hours.

 _"How do you even do that?"_ Ice asked, gaping at Green after his fifth bonus in a row.

"I'm really good at casino stuff." Green shrugged, not taking his eyes off the screen. "Also, being half Psychic helps."

 _"You cheat?"_ Tick blinked.

"Not exactly. I can use Future Sight-" there was a _ding_ and the clattering of coins as Green got another bonus. "-but not in such a way that I can actually see the future. Not yet anyway. But I can . . . kind of slow down the slots to see where they'll land if I pull the lever at a certain point."

 _"That doesn't make much sense."_ Nameless admitted.

"Not to you, but to me . . . well, it's hard to explain." Green said. He scooped up the coins and put them into the small bucket- which was rapidly getting filled.

"I'll say." Toni laughed, coming back with some drinks and food. Sparkless squealed when he saw the amount of coins Green had gotten in their absence, and started ranting about how cool it was gonna be to have a Dragon on the team.

 _"Don't get too hopeful, we might not actually get one."_ Nameless scolded him.

 _"Stop being such a buzzkill this is gonna AWESOME do you know how powerful Dragonites are do you know how powerful Dragon types in general are do you do you?"_

 _"Vaguely."_ Ice muttered. _"But I know Ice Fang, so I can beat them up easy."_

"Kingdra." Green promptly replied. "Water/Dragon. Ice attacks have no effect. Only Dragon and Fairy. Which, by the way, you can't learn."

Toni coughed. "Dragon Claw, Dragon Tail, Dragon Pulse . . . I'm pretty sure he can also learn Dragon Dance too." she listed. "Oh, and Outrage."

Green paused, letting the slots run for a little bit to build up.

" . . . Huh." he said. "Okay then. Guess we'll be asking Kiara for some help with Dragon moves then."

 _"Why?"_

"She's got a Hydreigon."

Ice jerked back.

"He's not violent." Green assured him. "Just . . . really, really defiant. And offensive."

"That prat's lucky Electric attacks can't hurt him much." Toni nodded.

Green turned back to the slot machine and concentrated for half a second, and then pulled the lever- and got another bonus.

"Seriously, how do you keep doing that?" someone a couple of seats away demanded. "I haven't even gotten a single coin yet!"

"I'm lucky?" Green tried.

"But- actually, I've heard about this!" the person exclaimed. "It's this thing like in Kanto's Game Corner, where one of the machines is rigged to win easy, right? Can I try it?"

"Wait until I'm done, then you have a go."

Green got another bonus and the guy wailed pitifully.

"You should probably stop torturing him." Toni observed.

"I've been sitting here for an hour, I need something else to entertain me."

 _"Maybe it's time we went for the roulette then."_ Ice said.

"I'm okay with that plan."

The roulette's took some more time, because they were actually all chance- there was actually no way Green could 'slow it down'. Sure, he could probably cheat and use Confusion or Psychic to pull the ball into whatever slot he wanted, but where was the fun in that?

And by the time he got bored of the roulette, he'd almost gotten the goal- nine thousand.

Dratini probably didn't cost that much, but nevertheless, it was a good idea to have some extra just in case. Besides, some of the prizes were TMs- which was awesome because Green was pretty sure Shadow Ball and Ice Beam were two of them (AN: obviously Shadow Ball isn't one, but this is my story, my rules).

They wandered over to the Voltorb Flip, passing by the slot machines- and the guy who'd taken over Green's seat, wailing about how the thing wasn't working for him.

Well. He got points for trying at least.

They'd been in the Game Corner for two hours and forty-five minutes when Green finally managed to get their goal, and then some extra because he was on a pretty high level anyway.

"Dang kid, how do you keep doing that?" the operator asked.

"The dude wailing over the slots said the same thing." Green shrugged.

It wasn't an answer, really. With the slots, Green had been sort of cheating- but with the Voltorb Flip, it was pure luck (or skill, he wasn't sure which).

Green got a bunch more coins and decided to pack it in, because now the operator was looking slightly suspicious. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned the slots. Oh well.

And then half an hour later, because the line for the prizes was kind of long, Green and Toni walked out of the Game Corner with one pokemon and several TMs.

 **oooo**

Later that day, in their room in the pokemon centre, Toni stood frowning thoughtfully at the awkward-looking Dratini, who was coiled up on an armchair.

"Toni." Green called. "Stop staring at him. You're freaking him out."

"I'm trying to come up with a name." Toni retorted. "Shut up."

 _"Could you do it in a less creepy way, please?"_ the currently nameless Dratini asked warily.

"If I try thinking of a name for you when I'm not actually paying attention to you, I'll forget the name within seconds and it'll be like losing some sort of awesome gem- _I got it_!"

Everyone stared at her.

"Gemless!" Toni exclaimed, spinning around and grinning. "Perfect, right?"

 _"That makes less sense than Sparkless."_ Hopeless commented.

 _"You're called Hopeless."_ Lifeless pointed out. _"I wouldn't comment if I were you."_

 _"And you're called Lifeless, so the same applies."_

 _"Yes, however, it makes sense for me."_

 _"What do you want, a medal?"_

 _"Guys, please."_ Nameless sighed.

"And here I thought they got along." Green said, raising an eyebrow.

Ice looked at him. _"Where have you been for the past four or five weeks?"_

 _"Excuse me . . ."_ the Dratini- or Gemless- spoke up. _"Why is Gemless a good name for me? Just . . . wondering."_

"It makes absolutely no sense and yet it does make sense anyway." Toni told him. "Welcome to my epic team, Gemless!"

 _" . . . Should I be worried? You don't have a Beedrill called, um, Needleless or anything, right?"_

 _"How did you know that wow are you Psychic or something hey Green check if he's Psychic we might have one of those pokemon with the sub-types that don't get recorded how cool is that?"_ Sparkless said.

Gemless stared at him speechlessly.

"Yes, he's always like that." Green informed him. "Moving on."

 _"To what, exactly?"_ Twin demanded.

" . . . Something that doesn't involve Toni's shit naming skills?"

He counted himself lucky that someone knocked on the door at that very moment, because just about half the room was glaring at him at that point.

Green stood up and walked over (he could have easily opened it from the sofa, but whatever), checking the peep-hole.

He turned back and looked at Toni.

"You're not gonna believe this." he said.

"Is it Rena?" Toni promptly asked.

"What? No, she'd have just Teleported in and scared us all to death." Green shook his head, and opened the door.

An eighteen year old boy- or, well, young man to Green and Toni- stepped in, looking calm despite half the room being incredibly rare pokemon.

"Hi, you two." Ethan said. His Typhlosion- Axel- squeezed into the room after him.

"Ethan!" Toni cried happily, jumping up. " . . . What in the hell are you doing here?"

"You forgot to visit in New Bark." Ethan told her and Green. "Thought I'd come and correct that."

Several seconds passed.

"I'm being sarcastic." he said. "I wouldn't come all this way just because you didn't come and say hi. Though I'm still pissed at that. Go you."

 _"I can tell he's gonna real joy to be around."_ Ice muttered.

"Sometimes I get told I'm too sarcastic for my own good, Croconaw." Ethan shrugged. "Of course I'm a joy."

 _"And now he's Deviant too, perfect."_

 _"Damn straight he's a Deviant."_ Axel said proudly. _"I taught him everything about Fire. And then some."_

"Axel is Ethan's partner- and obviously, Ethan's a Fire type." Green explained. "Which kind of doesn't really fit, but then again Kai's like super shy and he's a Fire type too."

"Types rarely ever fit personality." Ethan shrugged, sitting down on a random chair. "For example, you two. You're both Ghosts and yet you're somehow not cynical or total pranksters. Well, Green isn't anyway. I could be wrong, though."

 _"You are."_ Nameless agreed. _"Unless getting us all soaked in a rainstorm doesn't count."_

"That counts."

 _"Oh, good."_

"So why _are_ you here, then?" Green interrupted before the conversation could get drawn any further away from the original topic. "Because you already said it isn't to say hi."

"Oh, right." Ethan said. He sat up slightly and pulled three pokeballs out of his bag, and set them down on the table. "Rooke's here for a conference in Elm's place, and she took me along so I could run an errand for her- lazy Miltank- and here I am. Running the errand. For her."

 _"You can stop any time now."_ Axel told him.

"Of course."

"Is the errand to give us pokeballs?" Toni asked.

Ethan glanced at her. "Nope, it's to give you two pokemon. They got interested in you- mostly because of Toni's weirdness, if I'm honest." he explained. "Unfortunately, there's three of them, so obviously one of you is going to end up with two and the other'll end up with just the one. The trick would be to decide who gets who. Though I don't think that'll be an issue . . ."

 _"Why not?"_ Hopeless blinked.

"Mostly because the twins seem to like Toni the best, and Charlie's more interested in Green."

Green's eyes flashed purple and he perked up slightly. "Charlie as in the Eevee?" he asked. "The one that was climbing all over Rooke?"

"Correct, my little friend." Ethan nodded.

"Then I'm cool with that, he was cool."

 _"He and his cousins are insane!"_ Nameless exclaimed, somewhat fearfully. _"Even compared to you two! Marco's not as bad, but still!"_

 _"Charlie's pretty much the ringleader in any pranks they do."_ Ice grumbled. _"Sven goes along with it because he's bored half the time, and Marco just does it because they're doing it."_

"I like these Eevees." Toni announced. "I like them very, very much."

"Glad you think so." Ethan smiled. "I need to get back to Rooke in half an hour, and it'll take me ages to get to the conference hall- so I'll be leaving now, if you don't need me for anything."

 _"Wait."_ Ice said, raising a hand.

Ethan looked at him.

 _"If you're a Deviant too, how come you're not in this city of theirs?"_ Ice asked. _"And why did you never speak to us?"_

 _"He had a cover to maintain, Croconaw."_ Axel replied instead.

 _"That's the second question. What about the first one?"_

Ethan considered that for a second, looking for the best way to answer. "To put it bluntly, I'm a liason officer for Johto and Kanto. Basically, I keep an eye on these two regions, so if anything stupid happens- like, say, those Team Rocket plebes from last year- I can report it to Neron and he sends in someone if he feels the need to."

"Ethan's kind of half the reason why we got put here." Green took up the explanation. "He's the one that descovered the thing with those Sovereign freaks-"

"Oh, is that what they're called?" Ethan said.

"-and some of the Psychics are the other half, since they detected Deviants here in Johto." Green finished.

"Congrats, you two got a mission that doesn't just require pure blunt force trauma." Ethan clapped sarcastically.

"Oh shut up, you're the least qualified for the liason thing but you're still here." Green snapped.

"Someone give this kid a medal."

"You know," Toni said. "They say sarcasm is the lowest form of wits."

"They've obviously never met me."

 _"Why are none of you normal friends?"_ Amethyst wondered. _"I mean, no offence, but you all seem to insult each other at every oppertunity."_

 _"Why be friends when we can be insulting friends?"_ Axel shrugged.

 _"Aren't you worried that someone else'll take your job?"_ Ice suddenly asked. _"Those two weirdos have told us about the city, and even if it sounds cool, it must get boring. Being a liason officer for an entire region would probably seem way better."_

"My job is secure." Ethan told him. "No one else wants it."

"Mostly because he has to stay in one region, and doesn't get to do any actual work." Toni stage-whispered. "It's boring as fuck."

 _"So, he's a paper-pusher."_ Hopeless summarised. _"What Rena called a suck-up."_

"Not me." Ethan said. "I'm just here because this is my home region and no one actually likes Johto. Also, for some reason, Kanto. It's hard work, managing two regions on my own, but apparently I'll be getting help in the future. That should be amusing."

"Weren't you supposed to be leaving?" Green asked.

"That eager to get rid of me, are you?" Ethan chuckled, standing up. "No matter. I'll see you around, kids. Well. If Elm let's me have some time off, that is. The dude doesn't seem to think his aids have lives outside of what we do in front of his face."

 _"That sounds . . . nice?"_ Gemless tried cautiously.

"Occasionally it's astoundingly offensive. Nice Dratini, Toni. He looks like he's gonna be a badass Dragonite- provided he doesn't die horribly, that is."

Ethan left, Axel following and sniggering under his breath, and left Gemless looking shellshocked.

 _"I . . . what?"_ he said.

"Don't take any notice, he's a weirdo." Green told him. "Now, let's have a look at these three."

He gestured and the three pokeballs opened up. Three Eevees appeared on the sofa, one them wearing what looked like a pair of Safety Goggles.

 _"Charlie,"_ Ice sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Or, well, his . . . muzzle? Jaws? The space between his eyes? Whatever. _"Why are you wearing those stupid things?"_

 _"They're not stupid!"_ Charlie snapped. _"They're awesome!"_

He turned to Green and jumped onto the table, looking proud despite the fact that he was the smallest thing in the room (not counting Tick).

 _"You! Whatever your name is!"_ he exclaimed.

"Green." Green supplied.

 _"Right, Gree- wait, I thought your name was Tommy?"_

"It's a fake name. We'll explain later."

Charlie looked at him for half a second and then nodded. _"Right then. You're my new Trainer, and I don't care what you say, got it? Also I wanna be called Eon. No offence to Dad or Mom but Charlie just isn't awesome enough for me."_

"Eon, like the Flareon?" Toni said.

Charlie gaped at her. _"You watch_ Pokemon Underground _too?"_ he demanded happily.

"Best pokemon-only anime on the planet." Toni nodded proudly.

Charlie looked at Green, who nodded and said he watched it too. The little Eevee squealed loudly.

 _"My new Trainer watches my favourite TV show YES!"_

Well, at least that explained the Safety Goggles. Eon the Flareon wore goggles that looked incredibly similar to them. So, Charlie was now Eon- Green didn't mind, it was just one more pokemon named after a TV character.

 _"Also,"_ Eon went on. _"You might wanna invest in a Fire Stone at some point."_

"We're not made of money." Green frowned.

 _"Find a Meowth and have them Pickup a Fire Stone. Simple."_

 _"That was terrible pun."_ Nameless informed him.

 _"Terribly awesome, you mean!"_

Okay, so, Eon seemed a little bit over the top. But then most Fire types were over the top (with the exception of Kai, as Green already stated) and it just helped to make them more passionate, so it didn't really matter. You know, if he wanted to be a Fire type.

So long as Eon didn't do too many stupid puns.

"Any name preferences for you two?" Toni asked Marco and Sven.

Sven made several gestures with his tail, his expression getting more excited as he continued gesturing.

Unfortunately, no one but Eon and apparently Ice and Nameless could understand him.

 _"He says-"_ Ice began, but Green interrupted by holding up a hand and concentrating on Sven.

 _-not entirely sure why but the team doesn't exactly seem cool at the moment, wait is that a Dratini holy crap-_

Everyone but Toni and Sparkless was surprised.

"Congrats, you now have telepathy." Green told Sven. "So please, be careful what you think."

Sven looked at him and gestured, frowning. _What's this kid on about, that's basically impossible unless he's-_

"-Psychic?" Green suggested.

Sven stopped gesturing slowly, and finally realised that everyone could hear him.

 _. . . Holy hell,_ he said. _This is new. And amazing._

"You're welcome."

 _You're psychic?_

Toni answered, shaking her head. "Nah, he's Psychic. You know, like an actual Psychic type?" she said. Sven grinned.

Marco wasn't exactly looking at anyone, but he still managed to be appropriately and pleasantly surprised.

 _"W-wow . . . I can hear you clearly."_ he said softly.

 _This is awesome, I can actually talk to Marco without having Charlie- Eon, sorry- as a translator!_

"I love how you're just taking this in your stride." Toni said, grinning back at the Eevee. "So, back to what I asked- any name preferences? Evolution preferences?"

 _This telepathy thing,_ Sven began. _Can all Psychics do it?_

 _"Yes."_ Nameless answered him. _"As far as recent research shows, at least."_

 _Then I wanna be an Espeon. No questions. Espeon._ Sven almost started gesturing with his tail again, but then he stopped himself in time. _Also, I don't care about the name- you can name me if you want to._

 _"S-same as Sven."_ Marco said. _"But, uh . . . I wanna be an Umbreon. M-Mama said that Umbreon can use Screech as a kind of . . . radar thing, so . . . uh . . . yeah."_

"In that case, I got some awesome names for you two!" Toni exclaimed. She pointed at Sven. "You can be Fearless. Because you seem awesomely fearless and you're acting like this is totally normal, so yeah."

 _Fearless,_ Sven said, testing out the new name. _Fits for an Eevee- or, well, Espeon. I like it! I like you!_

Toni giggled and turned to Marco. "And you . . . Sightless."

There was a few seconds of silence.

" . . . What?" Toni asked, looking around.

 _"That is a horrible name."_ Lifeless told her bluntly.

 _"Even compared to ours."_ Hopeless agreed instantly.

"You lot keep on about how I call pokemon names that make no sense, and now that I'm giving a name that makes sense, you're gonna stand there and say it's not good?" Toni demanded.

"Well, it's not that." Green said hesitantly. "It does make sense, sure . . . but isn't it a little cruel? I mean, you were able to justify Hopeless's name- and Lifeless does actually make sense because he's basically dead anyway. But Sightless? For a blind Eevee? Really?"

 _"Um."_

They turned to Marco, who didn't notice the sudden shift in attention but most likely felt that everyone was looking at him. He shrank back warily.

 _"I-I don't mind the name."_ he went on shyly. _"Really. I think . . . I-I think it's kind of cool, actually. It- it does kind of seem cruel, but it does fit- and if I do become an Umbreon, it'll be even cooler because, w-well . . . Umbreons are Dark types. They generally don't care much for using their eyes to see stuff, right? They use . . . use things like sonar or whatever, a-and become one with the darkness or . . . something. So it fits. For me right now and for me if I became an Umbreon."_

 _He really does wanna be an Umbreon,_ Fearless agreed. _We've got an aunt who's one, and she's pretty good at doing the sonar thing. It inspired him._

"But . . ."

 _"I like the name."_ Marco said, more firmly this time. _"I want the name. Um. P-please."_

"Sightless it is!" Toni called, before anyone could say otherwise. "Okay, we gotta look into getting you two to evolve . . . it's a friendship thing, right?"

 _"Umbreon is at night, and Espeon is during the day."_ Ice said, still looking slightly sour at the name Marco- Sightless- had been given.

"Can you do the mind thing to trick them into evolving?" Toni asked, turning to Green.

He blinked and considered it. Maybe, given enough time, but as far as he knew it hadn't really been done before. It wasn't like tricking the two Eevees into thinking it was night or day was the issue, it was how they would evolve to begin with.

He couldn't exactly fake emotion. He could influence it, maybe, but not completely.

"Maybe." he said. "I might need a few trial runs. Guys? Would you be willing to, well, be my test subjects? I don't think this has been done before."

 _I'm cool with that._

 _"W-what S- Fearless said."_

And then the lights went out.

Someone shrieked, and it didn't take long to figure out that it was Hopeless- who felt incredibly embarrassed at that.

 _"This is not normal, correct?"_ Twin asked.

"Unless they're doing a drill, no." Green answered.

The backup lights came on, washing the entire room in a creepy, red light. Then an automated message came on the speakers, telling all people staying in the pokemon centre to go down to the lobby and to stay as calm as possible.

Also that it wasn't a drill.

 _"Well, damn."_ Ice said.

"Okay, let's go." Green told them, holding out his pokemons' respective pokeballs. He returned everyone but Tick and Eon, Tick because the little Togepi's ball had never been used, and Eon because . . . well, Eon kept dodging the ball and eventually Green just gave up.

Toni watched him in amusement for a few seconds and returned everyone but Sparkless, Fearless and Sightless. Green didn't know why she didn't return her two new Eevees, but whatever. Probably copying him for no good reason.

Several minutes later, he and Toni, along with their five pokemon, were down in the lobby with everyone else.

There weren't as many people as he'd thought, just a few Trainers scattered around with some pokemon by their sides. The nurse on duty at the moment was speaking to a few who probably had pokemon being healed, about how they shouldn't worry because the backup generator held enough power to keep the machines running for the next five or six hours- more than enough time to heal their pokemon.

Green should probably stop listening to people now that his telepathy was amazing.

But he did find out that the blackout- and the backup kicking in- was because of the Gym. It was having new light systems installed, and blackouts were expected when this happened.

Okay so, that pretty much implied that this happened far too often.

Green took out his DataGear and brought up the list, keeping it off the hologram mode because that would raise way too many questions. Toni leaned over, invading his personal space.

"Why're you not doing the hologram?" she asked.

"Because there's people around us." Green deadpanned. "I don't think it'd be normal if two kids with a holographic version of a PokeGear popped up. Questions would be asked. Anyway, I'm just checking the list, seeing if there's a Deviant or two in Goldenrod."

"Don't look like it." Toni mused, frowning at the screen. "Huh. I'd have kind of expected something to pop up here, I mean, it's the fucking biggest city in Johto right? So there's gotta be at least one Deviant."

"Well, there isn't." Green replied. "Just as well, I'd rather not spend ages in this city like we did in Violet and Azalea."

Toni looked at him.

" . . . Though in both cases we had very good reasons." he corrected himself quietly.

"Thank you." Toni said, almost icily.

There was a few moments of silence, and Green quickly decided to try changing the subject before Toni could Thunder Wave him or something.

"Hey, I don't wanna spend half the night in darkness." he said. "Think you could give them a recharge or something?"

Toni looked up at the lights. "Eh . . . probably. How would I get to, though? You're the one who keeps on about incognito, if I just offer my skills up like that-"

"Pretend you're some sort of tech genius." Green interrupted. "Just confuse her with enough techno babble and you'll be fine."

"I don't _know_ any techno babble." Toni pointed.

Green blinked.

Eventually, they came up with an idea.

Toni wandered over to the counter and offered her 'expertise', and of course the nurse on duty was suspicious, because a twelve year old offering to fix the lights was weird in so many ways.

Green supplied Toni with as much techno babble as he could manage, trying not to confuse her too much with his telepathy, and eventually the nurse got so confused she just decided it would be easier to agree to Toni doing whatever rather than trying to figure out what in the hell she was saying.

 _How long's she gonna be?_ Fearless asked.

"Probably not too long, it's not like we're hacking anyone." Green shrugged. "Anyway," he went on, ignoring the startled looks he got from the three Eevees. "Sightless. You wanna be an Umbreon, right?"

 _"Uh . . . y-yes?"_

"Well, now's as good a time as any to try and trick you into evolving." Green said. "It's dark out, so if I do manage to get you to evolve, most people won't bat an eyelid. Well, maybe they'll congratulate me or Toni or something, but it won't raise as many questions if an Eevee suddenly evolved into an Umbreon at night than if an Eevee evolved into an Espeon at night."

 _"I think I got that."_ Eon said. He paused. _"No, it's gone."_

Green sighed. "Basically, if Sightless evolves right now, it won't cause people to question their own existance or something."

 _"And we really really don't want that do we because the last time you made someone question their existance I think they kind of went nuts and then tried to commit suicide didn't they do that because I can't quite remember-"_

"Yes, yes, thank you." Green waved him off. "You wanna have a go, Sightless?"

 _"Sure."_ the blind Eevee agreed.

They moved to a more sheltered spot, because Green wasn't entirely sure if anyone would notice him doing this and ask questions.

He gently touched the tips of Sightless's ears- it always helped to have physical contact, even though it wasn't always necessary, because it made the psychic connection a little bit stronger than it normally would have been.

Green concentrated on the moon and what he thought could probably make an Eevee evolve out of friendship. It was the best idea he had so far, so . . .

He waited for several seconds, still concentrating, but there was no rise in temperature that generally signified an evolution, and no gasps of wonder or anything.

He opened his eyes and Sightless still an Eevee. Oh well. It had been worth a try, and he could just have another go.

 _"I-I don't feel any different."_ Sightless admitted. _"Do I look different? Um, do Umbreons have fur like Eevees?"_

 _You're still an Eevee,_ Fearless told him.

Sightless slumped. _"Aw . . ."_

 _"Don't worry!"_ Eon exclaimed, nudging him. _"You'll evolve at some point!"_

 _"Yeah!"_ Tick agreed happily. _"And I bet you'll look really cool as well!"_

Okay, Green was gonna get diabetes if this carried on.

The backup lights flickered suddenly, and then the normal ones came on. Everyone in the lobby glanced up in confusion.

"That blackout didn't last very long." someone said.

"That girl went off to fix it, right? She must be good." another Trainer admitted.

 _I Knew You Were Trouble_ started playing on the speakers. The screaming Gogoat version.

Several people wailed and tried to cover their ears.

 _" . . . Wow, okay."_ Eon said. _"I know you're crazy but I didn't think you were_ that _crazy."_

"It's even worse when you know what the Gogoat's actually saying." Green muttered to himself, as he watched the lobby descend into half-chaos. He turned to Eon. "Don't talk to me for a little bit, if I try replying to you and Toni at the same time, it'll get weird."

 _"I understood maybe three words."_

 _"Mama's gonna use telepathy!"_ Tick explained.

 _Mama?_ Fearless repeated incredulously.

While Tick started explaining how, exactly, a human being- and a _male_ at that- could be his mama, Green contacted Toni.

 _Toni,_ he broadcasted. _Toni, hello. Yo. Toni. TONI. HELLO. ARE YOU EVEN-_

 _Yes I'm here, Jirachi Christ, shut up!_

He sighed. _You've gone a bit too far this time. Actually, no, way too far. I think you've traumatised several people._

 _Good, no one appreciates the screaming Gogoat nearly as much as they fucking should!_

 _Toni. Turn it off. Now._

 _But-_

 _ **NOW.**_

 _Oh, fine, whatever. Be a spoilsport all your Mew-dammed life, then, see if I give a crap. Damn Psychics, always ruining my-_

 _I can still hear you._

 _. . . Sorry not sorry BYE!_

Green rolled his eyes and cut off the connection. Seconds later, _Trouble_ the screaming Gogoat version was shut off and the entire room heaved a sigh of relief.

Wow, Jirachi, it wasn't that bad. Kind of.

 _" . . . and that's why Mama's my Mama."_ Tick finished, just as Green stopped concentrating on Toni.

 _"T-that's a weird way to . . . um, get a mom."_ Sightless frowned, one eye half-closed in confusion.

 _You gotta admit, it's basically effective,_ Fearless pointed out.

 _"That's a tale worthy of_ Pokemon Underground _!"_ Eon cried. _"It has love, it has affection, it has all the points that a loving parent-child relationship should have- it's perfect! I need to write to the anime people and tell them about this, maybe they'll do something with Team Moonblast."_

"I doubt it." Green told him. "Toni's already written a letter suggesting they add in a Rotom to Team Deadswitch, but nothing's happened."

 _"Yet."_ Eon told him. _"If they don't add a Rotom in, I'll have to ask why in the heck not- because Rotoms have both the types in that Team!"_

That was pretty much the entire reason that Toni had wrote the letter to begin with. Also, she kind of wanted to see an anime-version of her partner- Rotom never actually _did_ show up much on TV, anime or otherwise.

Speaking of Toni, she was coming back in now.

A few people thanked her for fixing the lights, and almost twice that amount of people glared at her for the Gogoat version of _Trouble_. Toni just ignored them and came back over to Green and the five pokemon.

"Why did you do that?" Green asked, the second she was sitting down. "You've made half the people in this room hate us now."

"It was funny." Toni shrugged.

 _"It kinda was."_ Eon agreed.

"I thought you liked me more, that doesn't mean you agree with her at every oppertunity." Green said.

 _"Eh."_

"Did you try evolving Sightless or Fearless?" Toni asked Green.

"Just Sightless- if I tried Fearless, it'd cause chaos. More than the Gogoat." Green told her. "I did try it with Sightless, but obviously, it didn't work."

 _"A-at least you tried. That's better t-than what most people would have, uh, done for me."_ Sightless admitted.

"I sense a story." Toni said, with her usual amount of tact.

 _Basically put, no one wanted us purely because Sightless is, well, sightless, and I'm mute,_ Fearless explained. _Any Trainers that_ did _want an Eevee wanted Eon, but he flat out refused to go anywhere without us. That kind of led to a lot of shouting matches about why it wasn't morally right to make a living being go with someone because that someone just wanted a pokemon that could evolve into several other pokemon._

 _"I hated every one of them."_ Eon agreed. _"So pushy, and they kept saying mean things about my cousins, too! Kept saying that Sightless would be useless in battle, and Fearless wouldn't be able to communicate properly and that'd have some effect on battle . . . we're still not sure how . . . so no one wanted either of them. But I won't go anywhere without Sightless and Fearless!"_

 _"A-and we're grateful."_ Sightless said.

" . . . Wow." Green murmured sympathetically. "I have . . . no idea what to say to that."

 _"It wasn't that bad."_ Eon reasurred him. _"After all, we saw you two- and got interested, cus you're weird and awesome. And it turns out you're even weirder and more awesomer, and you don't even care that my cousins are blind and mute!"_

"Well, I think blindness might actually _help_ with battles." Toni replied with a grin. "Illusions won't work on him, cus they're basically sight- and he can't even see them, but he can sense-smell-whatever the real thing and then beat it to a pulp. And since you wanna be a Dark type, you'll probably be my Ghost buster- and Ghosts sometimes use a lot of illusions. Also, Green gave Fearless telepathy, so there's no reason to think of that as something that can harm anything."

 _Hey, does this mean I can also talk to other humans?_ Fearless asked.

"Yep." Green nodded.

 _Sweet!_

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: I was gonna write some more, but then I realised I'd go over the limit I'd set myself. Well, kind of. Okay so basically I didn't want this getting too long.

Green: You didn't even realise you'd gotten so far until you saved it for safe-keeping!

Renny: Yes, I know, shut up. Anyway, Ethan makes his return- as the liason officer for Johto/Kanto, and as a very sarcastic Fire Deviant with Axel the Typhlosion as his partner. Also, that Dratini took me hours to win. I got very stuck into it, which is something I've never done before. Go me.

Green: You're an idiot.

Renny: Shut up. Also, I did say those three Eevees were gonna be important! Or . . . something along those lines. And Toni's naming theme doesn't exactly take into consideration the feelings of the pokemon she's giving them too- Toni's kinda like me, basically because she is me. She can't exactly tell what people (or in this case pokemon) are feeling until it's far, far too late.

Green: I think we all know that.

Renny: *rolls eyes* Read and review.


	11. Chapter 11- Poison

Renny: I realised that, after checking my notes on my _HeartGold_ run, Nameless doesn't actually evolve at the same time as Ice. I'm not talking about the Bayleef evolution, I'm talking about the Meganium one.

Green: You just gave people spoilers.

Renny: They're starters, those ones generally last. It ain't much of a spoiler. Anyway, my original plan for Nameless's final evolution was for him to evolve along with Ice, but he actually evolves somewhere else entirely- so plans have to change. Unfortunately.

Green: You're weird and stupid.

Renny: Weird, yes. Stupid, no. I'll kill you for that.

Green: Where did you get that flamethrower- _Renny doesn't own pokemon BYE_!

Renny: On with the show! GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!

 **OOOOOO**

The glow faded and the heat died down gradually.

After several seconds, the spectators- Green, Toni, their pokemon and a random Trainer who had challenged Green to a battle- uncovered their eyes and looked at the newly-evolved pokemon.

Amethyst flexed her new arms, testing them out, and took a couple of steps forward with her new feet.

"That," Toni said. "Was the most awesome evolution I've ever seen. And I saw Hopeless's evolution."

 _"Thank you."_ Amethyst said, and then shot a Rock Blast at her opponent- the other Trainer's Ambipom.

The two-tailed monkey was out of the fight in less than three seconds.

"Damn kid." the Trainer said, whistling. "You got timing."

"No, it's just cus he said Amethyst wasn't gonna evolve." Toni informed him. "Ergo, she evolved."

The Trainer blinked at her and shrugged, returning his Ambipom. He handed Green the prize money with a good-natured insult and a promise to battle again sometime, and then went off into the forest.

 _"Things just evolve around you, don't they?"_ Ice said drily.

Green shrugged. "It works, doesn't it? Only when I'm not paying attention though."

"This." Toni agreed.

"Yeah that."

They hadn't exactly been on the road for long, since leaving Goldenrod. After a quick check-up with Ethan (and also Rooke, who was kind of . . . appalled at Toni's crappy naming skills), they left Goldenrod the next day and spent the next three training and moving on towards Ecruteak.

Which, unlike Goldenrod, actually had a Deviant in it. Just the one, so there wouldn't be any danger of sticking around for far too long in a place Green couldn't care less about.

"You just wanted to leave because you finally got kicked out of the Game Corner." Toni pointed out.

"Oh, shut up."

Oh, and they'd eventually added Goldenrod to the list as well. You know, the casino one, not the Deviant one.

Now they were coming up to the National Park- though Green still wondered why it was called that when it wasn't actually that national. It was just a large park three days out of Goldenrod. Which also, apparently, held the Bug Catching Contest.

"So, are we gonna enter?" Toni asked, looking at the poster outside the cabin.

"That depends on what the prizes are." Green muttered.

 _"Well, first, second and third places get to keep whatever they catch."_ Nameless read. _"Third place gets . . . a Sirtus berry? That's kinda lame. Second is apparently an Everstone, though I don't know why anyone would want one of those, and first is-"_

 _"Fire Stone!"_ Eon shouted, bursting out of his ball.

Green jerked away from him and almost stumbled, nearly dropping Tick. He glared at the impulsive Eevee.

 _"Green!"_ Eon cried, turning to his Trainer. _"We have to enter! Granddad told me about this Contest, it's where Rooke got Boss from- her Butterfree, you know? Rooke won and got a Sun Stone, but I know for a fact that recently they've been swapping the Stones around- and today it's a Fire Stone! We have to enter and win!"_

 _"What makes you think the kid'll catch something that will win?"_ Ice pointed out. _"Rooke won with a Caterpie. Even if the kid catches, I dunno, a Scyther or something, it doesn't guarantee a win for him."_

 _"Because he has to win!"_ Eon told him firmly. _"I wanna evolve_ now _!"_

"I could just try asking for a Fire Stone from Kai." Green suggested. "It'd be less hassle . . ." He trailed off, seeing the look Eon was giving him.

 _"What's the point in that?"_ the Eevee demanded. He looked around the group, as if trying to find someone who agreed with him. _"There's no fun in just . . . getting one from someone! I'd rather my Fire Stone be earned rather than have some cheap alternative to getting it- I want my Stone to mean something, I want my evolution to mean something! I don't want it to feel hollow and useless, I want it to symbolise the blood, sweat and tears- okay, maybe not blood and tears- point is, I want to get my Stone because it was earned, not given!"_

 _"That was a cool speech."_ Tick said.

Eon grinned at him. _"Thanks!"_

Green blinked slowly. "Uh . . . okay then, I guess?"

"If we both enter, we'll have more chance of winning." Toni pointed out. Green glanced at her, surprised. "I can think of stuff too!" she went on indignantly.

 _"She has a point."_ Ice agreed. _"You both enter, one of you wins, Eon gets his Fire Stone. It's all the same in the end."_

"Fair enough." Green nodded. "Alright then."

"Oh, by the way, if I win?" Toni said. "You can have whatever I catch."

Wait, what?

"I've got six pokemon." Toni shrugged. "Seven, sorry. You've got five- it only makes sense to give you the pokemon if I win, right? And if you win, more power to you!"

Green could only watched her as she wandered away into the cabin.

 _"That was unexpected."_ Ice said.

Sparkless took offense to that, so he started ranting at Ice- Green just tuned it out.

He and Toni entered the Contest, and they had great timing because apparently they were the last ones and registration was actually about to be shut down. For once, their luck was totally not against them.

Now Green just had to hope that their luck held out.

"Which two pokemon are you entering with?" the registration man asked, as he recordered their details.

"Two?" Green asked, startled.

The man glanced at him, briefly muttering something about first timers. "It's a new thing we're testing- once a week, everyone who enters can use two pokemon to try and catch a Bug type to win." he explained. "You two got lucky. You can enter two pokemon. Of course, this is optional, so if you still want to enter with just one, then go ahead."

"I'd like to enter my Dratini and Eevee." Toni told him, and the man wrote the pokemon down.

"Why Gemless?" Green asked her quietly. "You don't really know him that well yet."

"Exactly." Toni agreed. "Everyone else I know pretty well, but that's cus I battled with them pretty much instantly. So I thought now would be a good time to practise with Gemless!"

"Huh. Okay then."

"And you?" the man said, looking at Green.

"Uh-" Green had to think, quickly. "My Togepi and Eevee."

Tick cried out happily and Eon cheered loudly. At least he'd get his chance to earn his own Fire Stone.

"Kids these days, never leave their pokemon in their balls . . ." the man muttered. "Alright, you're registered. Get to the centre of the park- there's signs to tell you where to go- and the Ranger there will explain all the rules. Leave any pokemon you're not using here. Off you go."

Well, at least he was nice.

Ten minutes later he and Toni- along with Tick, Eon, Fearless and Gemless- found themselves standing in a crowd of several other people.

Green looked around to check out their competition.

There was a man with a Flareon and a Jolteon, which was probably a combo of status-causer and Fire attacker. A woman stood nearby with two Pidgeottos, and there was a boy with a Fearow and a Pichu.

The only other person of interest was a girl who looked a little older than Green and Toni, with a Dodrio and a Butterfree. The others didn't interest Green because they were all hobbyist Bug Catchers.

"Alright," the Ranger called to get everyone's attention. There was a Raichu next to him, keeping a watchful eye on the pokemon and their Trainers. "Most of you here are regulars anyway, but for the benefit of the first-timers I'm going to explain the rules. You're only allowed to enter one Bug type that you catch, but you can catch as many as you please. This is so that, if you catch something and find something else that you want or think might give you a better chance at winning, you can catch that pokemon as well and compare them.

"In this specific Contest, you're allowed to use two pokemon, so hopefully this means you can catch pokemon quicker." the Ranger went on. "As the regulars know, only those who get first, second and third places are allowed to keep the pokemon they submitted. Third place recieves a Sirtus berry, second recieves an Everstone, and first place recieves an evolution Stone- which, in this case, is a Fire Stone. No catching a pokemon that someone else is going after, and no stealing a pokemon from another Trainer. Understood?"

"Yeah!" basically everyone called. Those who didn't speak just nodded, some glancing at their pokemon in excitement.

"Alright then." the Ranger said, and he glanced down at the Raichu at his side. "Volta, if you would."

The Raichu nodded and sparked, and then shot off a loud Thunder into the sky. Apparently this was the signal to start, because everyone else started to disperse into the grass- which was really long.

"Wanna work together?" Green asked Toni.

"I think we'd have a better chance at winning if we worked seperately." Toni mused. "No offence."

"Um, why would I be offended?"

"Because- nevermind." Toni shrugged and wandered off into the grass.

Green blinked and made a small dismissive sound, and then went off his own way.

"Okay," he said to his two pokemon. "You'll take this in turns. Tick, whatever comes out first is yours to battle- then I'll catch it if I think it's good enough. Eon, you get whatever comes out second and I'll catch that if it's good enough. Then you'll swap and so on. Got it?"

 _"Sounds fair to me!"_ Eon agreed.

 _"Me too!"_

"Alright then."

The first pokemon they came across was a Beedrill. Green instantly decided no, because that would seem like he was copying Toni- and she'd just take the piss anyway, saying he wanted to be like her subconsciously.

But he did say that they'd battle whatever they came across, so he let Tick have a go- and it was a good chance to practise the little Togepi's Psychic abilities, because Beedrill were half Poison.

"Extrasensory!" Green called.

Tick's eyes glowed and his stubby hands did the same thing, and the Beedrill choked slightly as it too was enveloped in the same sheen.

Tick threw the Beedrill into a tree, and it got up again- and tried to use a Twinneedle, but Tick casually deflected that with a quick shield. Green had taught him well, it seemed.

Wouldn't be long before Tick got Psybeam and Psychic down. The little baby was turning into a powerhouse.

"Try a Headbutt!" Green suggested.

The result of that was, basically, Tick turning into a shell-encased bowling ball.

Similar to how most pokemon used Rollout, Tick spindashed towards his opponent and bowled it over.

 _"Was he Sonic the Sandslash in a previous life?"_ Eon blinked. _"Should we be worried?"_

"If it isn't broke, don't fix it." Green shrugged. He raised his voice so Tick could hear him. "Great job! Headbutt's coming along great!"

 _"Thanks, Mama!"_ Tick called back, coming to a stop.

It was a weird version of Headbutt, sure, but it surprised opponents and if Green told Tick to use it through telepathy, then the opponent would think Tick was using Rollout and not Headbutt.

Bait and switch, or something along those lines.

Eon took the next pokemon, which was a Venonat. Green thought maybe they could win with that, so he decided to catch it as soon as Eon had stopped whacking it with a stick he'd found nearby.

Within ten minutes, Green had caught three pokemon- the Venonat, a Pinsir and a Butterfree.

"Twinkle twinkle little star . . ."

 _"I hear singing."_ Eon frowned, looking into the grass a few feet away.

"Why is art so FUCKING HARD."

 _"Bree. You're gonna scare away all the pokemon. Stop it."_

"Up above the world so high-"

 _"She always does-"_

 _"-this I swear-"_

 _"-it's on purpose."_

"-I can't draw the OTHER EYE."

 _"Bree, please."_

The grass rustled, and the girl Green had seen before staggered out, singing loudly to herself. The Butterfree and Dodrio followed her.

The girl stopped singing and spotted Green. She grinned and wandered over.

"How's life going?" she asked.

"Um. Good?" Green blinked.

 _"Ooooh nice tattoos."_ Eon commented.

They were all over her arms and on the backs of both her hands, and Green got the impression that the tribal-like tattoos (most of which were black as the night sky, but some were a strange navy blue colour, others were a midnight purple) were also all over her body, because he could see some poking up through her shirt onto her neck, and the ones on her arms disappeared into the shirt.

He was about to remind Eon that she couldn't understand him, using telepathy of course because it'd look weird if he answered his pokemon back, but then the girl answered Eon.

"Thanks!" the girl said, grinned. "I got them last year, the minute I could."

" . . . Did you just-" Green began.

 _"Yes, she did."_ the Butterfree said mildly. _"And if you're wondering how I can speak-"_

 _"Mama's Psychic, so he can understand anything!"_ Tick interrupted.

The three newcomers- or, uh, five if you counted the seperate heads on the Dodrio- stared at him and then Green.

"I have weak psychic potential." Green quickly tried to cover up the slip. "So far it's just limited to understanding pokemon and telepathy."

"Shame." the girl told him, shrugging.

 _"How come you can understand me?"_ Eon asked.

Green caught the glance the Eevee sent to him, and understood- he quickly checked the girl to see if she was a Deviant, but she wasn't. Was she like Rooke then? Green still didn't know how that woman could understand pokemon, but she could and she wasn't Deviant.

 _"Bree's crazy."_ the Butterfree explained.

"Should you be saying that about your own Trainer?" Green wondered.

 _"Probabaly not but-"_ one of the Dodrio's heads began.

 _"-considering that we're-"_ another one said.

 _"-the offspring of-"_ the last one said.

 _"-Lugia, it only-"_

 _"-stands to reason-"_

 _"-that our Trainer-"_

 _"-is basically insane."_

"For the last time, you're not the offspring of Lugia!" the girl snapped, spinning around to her Dodrio.

 _"Yes we totally-"_

 _"-are, if we-"_

 _"-weren't then explain-"_

 _"-how we can-"_

 _"-bloody use Aeroblast?"_

"Cus for some stupid reason you know Metronome and for some other stupid reason you have perfect control over it, that doesn't mean you're the offspring of a Legendary!" the girl fired back.

The Butterfree observed the argument for a few seconds, then turned to Green and his pokemon.

 _"My name's Kate,"_ she introduced. _"And my Trainer is called Bree. The Dodrio, collectively, is called Zero, but the heads are all One, Two and Three- left from right. He's . . . weird, bluntly put."_

"Right . . ." Green said slowly. "I'm Tommy, this is Tick and that's Eon. Bree?"

Bree broke off her argument with Zero and looked over. "Yeah?"

"Why're you entering this Contest if you've already got a Bug type?" Green asked, gesturing to Kate. "I mean, it doesn't make much sense if you ask me."

 _"Half of what you do doesn't make sense."_ Eon muttered, and Green flashed him a warning glance.

"Oh, I want the Everstone." Bree explained, as if that said everything, and went back to arguing with her Dodrio.

"The Everstone?" Green repeated, turning back to Kate. "She . . . who actually _wants_ an Everstone?"

 _"Okay, here we go . . ."_ Kate muttered, and then paused.

 _"Why is she taking a deep breath?"_ Eon asked.

 _"Bree needs to get an Everstone so she can exchange it for a Bike Voucher in the Pokemon Fanclub in Vermillion city, which she can then trade for a bike in Cerulean city, which she can then use to gain access to Cycling Road to look for a pair of Blackglasses that someone lost there, and in return for finding the Blackglasses Bree'll get a Cleanse Tag, which she can then exchange for a Heartscale, which she'll then trade for a TM of Teleport, which she can give in exchange for an Eevee egg."_ Kate said in one breath.

" . . . Um." was all Green could say to that.

 _"Congratulations you-"_

 _"-remembered the-"_

 _"-enter chain!"_ Zero cheered. Bree sucked him back into their argument again, which was about pineapples by now. For some reason.

 _"You think that was hard? Try putting it all together."_ Kate sighed.

"You know she could just buy an Everstone from the Department Store in Celadon, right?" Green asked.

"Where's the fun in that?" Bree called.

 _"I said she was crazy."_ Kate shrugged, when Green looked at her incredulously. _"Anyway, she's flown from Kanto just to get an Everstone, and to be honest it's hard. Most people want to get first place, and there's absolutely no way to guarantee that we'll get second."_

"Seriously, I'm pretty sure Everstones are really, really cheap." Green told her.

"And I'm pretty sure I don't give a crap!" Bree exclaimed, giggling madly.

 **oooo**

They split up a few minutes later, not wanting to hurt each other's chances- though Green did promise that if he or Toni (Phoebe to Bree) got second place, they'd give her the Everstone. And if Bree got first, she'd give Green the Fire Stone. It was a nice exchange.

 _"She was nice."_ Tick commented as they walked in the opposite direction to Bree.

"She was insane." Green retorted. "More so than I'm used to."

 _"The good news is- I get my Fire Stone!"_ Eon exclaimed. _"She seems like a pretty good Trainer, so this just means there's more of a chance of getting it, right? If Toni wins, I get my Stone, if you win, I get my Stone, if Bree wins, I get my Stone. And if any of you get second place, Bree gets an Everstone so she can get an Eevee egg! It's a win-win situation!"_

"And either way, I'm getting a new pokemon." Green pointed out. "So, be careful with your Fire when you evolve. You don't wanna burn whatever Bug we get."

 _"I will, don't worry. Just let me loose in some field every now and then, I'd like to throw my burning passion around!"_

"Hold your Ponytas, you haven't evolved yet!"

 _"The keyword here being 'ye-"_

Something flashed ahead of them, and then blasted past them.

Green was almost knocked off his feet but managed to keep himself upright by using a weak Confusion, but Eon wasn't as lucky and was bowled over.

"What the hell was that?" Green gasped, and then broke off.

A vicious-looking Scyther straightened up, and then crossed its blades together, drawing them across each other. That produced a high-pitched noise which made Green's ears hurt, and he thought he saw some sparks come off the blades.

Ah. A warrior Scyther.

They were doomed.

 _"That is a badass Bug."_ Eon muttered, picking himself up with a huge grin on his face.

"Quiet." Green hissed. He looked at the Scyther, respectfully keeping his head bowed but his eyes fixed on the Bug's in case it attacked. "Am I right in assuming this is your territory?" he politely asked.

 _"Correct."_ the Scyther said. It was female, and her voice was almost like steel and cold winter nights.

"Then I apologise for trespassing." Green bowed a little lower and took a step back, hoping the Scyther would let them leave. "We are merely taking part in the Bug Catching Contest- do you know of it?"

 _"I do."_ Scyther nodded.

"Then we will leave promptly." Green told her.

 _"No."_

He froze.

Scyther narrowed her eyes and stalked forwards a couple of steps.

 _"Every Trainer who passes here makes an attempt in capturing me."_ she rasped. _"They all fail, amusingly. You . . . you, human, are not even thinking of trying. That I consider a personal insult. You will try to capture me and you will fail. There is no room for arguments, no room for half-measures. You can use both your pokemon. I will defeat them both."_

 _"Doesn't ask for much, does she?"_ Eon muttered.

"Shut up." Green told him. "Um, I'm- I'm sorry, but . . . please. We did not come here looking for-"

 _"I care not!"_ Scyther snapped, slashing at the air so quick that Green felt the snap from where he was standing. _"It has practically become tradition, each day, to battle and defeat a Trainer. You battle me. Now."_

Demanding . . . but then again, warrior Scyther's often were.

 _"En garde!"_ Scyther snapped, getting into an attack position that Green only knew because of his own Scyther, Erwin.

Crouched with one foot drew back, looking almost like she was kneeling, one blade held high above her head and the other one held at an angle in front of her body. A classic Scyther fighting position.

Eon, without waiting for orders, spat out an excited war-cry and rushed at the Scyther.

It was his turn, sure, but . . . Green wasn't entirely sure that the little Eevee could take a pokemon like that. In contrast to normal Scythers, a warrior Scyther was far more vicious and relentless, with incredible speed and- somehow- the abilitiy to hold themselves in the air for more than ten seconds, unlike the rest of their Bug/Flying kin.

They could fly, basically.

Scyther's wings snapped open and she shot into the air, and Eon skidded to a halt where she had been moments before.

 _"What the-"_ he began.

Scyther shot back down and drew back one blade, then Slashed at the ground next to Eon- he flinched away, and Green got the impression that Scyther hadn't actually missed.

The Bug's feet landed on the ground and she was instantly on the attack, forcing Eon back with speedy thrusts of her blades. Eon got lucky and dodged most of them, somehow, but he got caught several times.

By the time Scyther's barrage was over, Eon could hardly stand. He had scratches all over his body and one ear looked torn, bent and bleeding.

"Eon, get back!" Green called. The entire exchange had taken only a few seconds and he'd only just now gotten over his shock to try giving an order.

 _"You said we were taking it in turns!"_ Eon replied, smartly not taking his eyes off Scyther.

"You are!" Green told him. "I'm giving you orders, not telling you to retreat!"

 _" . . . Oh. Right."_

Green rolled his eyes.

Scyther exploded forwards suddenly, startling him, Eon and Tick, and Eon shot to the side to avoid another swipe of her blade.

Her blades suddenly gained a strange, dark midnight purple aura. Scyther slashed forwards with alarming speed and caught Eon on the side of the head as he tried to evade again and he hit a tree, slumping down into a small heap at the base.

"Eon!" Green cried out.

That had been a Night Slash. How . . . unless it was an egg move? Great, as if their problems weren't bad enough.

A homicidal Scyther who knew Night Slash. Damn.

 _"My_ _turn!"_ Tick shouted, suddenly wriggling out of Green's arms.

"Wait-"

Tick curled into a ball and shot off at speed towards Scyther, who side-stepped to dodge. In reply, Tick simply changed direction as he was shooting past and used a blast of Extrasensory to launch himself into the air.

He hit Scyther's gut and forced her back several steps, and then spindashed off to circle her rapidly.

 _Tick!_ Green cried out psychically. _What are you doing? I never said you could-_

 _Sorry Mama!_ came the reply. _But this Scyther won't let us go until she's been beaten, or until we've been beaten._

 _You're only two weeks old, you can't beat a warrior Scyther!_

 _Watch me._

Tick's ball-body gained a pink-purple aura, and when Scyther dodged his next Headbutt, he shot off the Extrasensory as he whipped by.

Scyther choked out an enraged screech and tried to hit Tick with a Slash, but her blade just buried itself into the ground. Tick was too fast for her!

 _Okay, fine . . . Just, please, don't get hurt,_ Green sighed.

 _I won't!_ Tick firmly reassured him. _Mama, should I keep using Headbutt and Extrasenory?_

 _No- try a Confusion, lift her off her feet. Then do that thing where you shot off into the air._

 _I'm gonna call that a Boost!_

 _Okay, lift her up and Boost._

Tick zigzagged several times around Scyther, confusing her and also infuriating her, because each time she tried to hit him her blades just got stuck in the ground and she had to yank them free before trying again.

She yelped in an undignified manner when Tick's Confusion carried her a few feet off the ground, and then Tick blasted off using Extrasensory and hit her full-throttle in the stomach.

Tick let her go and rolled around several more times warily, only coming to a sudden stop when it didn't look like Scyther was in any condition to do much more than just kneel on the grass, wheezing.

 _. . . Did I get her?_ Tick wondered, not willing to be fooled into believing he'd won so easily.

 _Be on guard, she might be faking,_ Green said. _Ready a Confusion again._

Tick's eyes glowed and he crouched as much as his shell would let him, watching Scyther.

Several moments passed and nothing happened.

 _I . . . I think I got her._

Green frowned. Despite Tick's words, he somehow got the feeling that something was wrong- it was the way Scyther was wheezing. The sound seemed to come from her throat, not from her stomach, which was where it would have come from if she'd taken the full force of a newly-named Boost from a miniture bowling ball.

Which meant-

 _Tick! She's faking!_ Hit her now _!_

Tick didn't react fast enough, and Scyther blurred forwards with shocking speed.

Green caught the glow of a Counter attack just before Scyther hit Tick with her blades, and send him flying into a tree several metres away.

The crack was audible even from where Green was standing.

He spun around and his blood ran cold, freezing in place.

Tick's shell was cracked. Blood was gently trickling out of the crack in three small streams, but Green knew that for a little pokemon like Tick, a wound like that was most likely fatal.

 _"Hmph."_ Scyther said. _"I had expected more. You understood your pokemon and you seemed to be able to give orders silently, yet . . . you dissapoint me. I expected a more challenging fight."_

Green turned around slowly, eyes wide and blank. He didn't know if Tick was alive or dead, and he didn't want to find out- if Tick was alive he was in a lot of pain, and if he was dead . . .

I-if he was dead . . .

 _"I do admit I had not expected a hatchling of all things to be more powerful than a pokemon who can evolve into eight different eons."_ Scyther went on, looking at Tick's unmoving form with mild interest. _"I will give you points for raising such a formidable pokemon, human. Beyond that, I must advise you to get some better pokemon."_

"B-better . . .?"

 _"Do I need to sing it to you?"_ Scyther snapped. _"Get some better pokemon, and when you do, you can challenge me again- and maybe next time your defeat won't be so embarrassing."_

Green narrowed his eyes.

"I don't need better pokemon." he said coldly. "The ones I have now are perfectly fine."

 _"If you have more, perhaps you should have brought the better ones."_ she shrugged, unconcerned.

Something snapped.

Scyther opened her mouth to say something- most likely more insults to Tick and Eon- but then paused. _"Why are your eyes glowing?"_

In reply, Green flicked out a hand and concentrated.

Slowly, because he hadn't had much practise with this, a dark purple trident formed like a Bone Rush staff. The points at the end of it weren't like a normal trident's, and instead copied the one that Finnick Odair had used in the _Hunger Games_.

Scyther took a step back in alarm.

Green smiled with all the warmth of the coldest winter night. "Oh, and by the way? I'm not human."

Then he threw the trident at her.

The Psychic trident simply passed through Scyther, but it did just as much damage as it would have done had it been solid, making her scream- and Green quickly Teleported behind the Bug to catch the weapon as it slid through her.

He Teleported again and this time ended up right next to her, making her flinch away. But he did nothing and appeared several feet away, and then, while she was trying to readjust her position, threw the trident again.

Green gestured, eyes burning like fire, and the trident split into three others. They went wide in a strange pattern and then homed in on her.

 _"Wait-"_ Scyther tried, but whatever she was going to say was cut off abruptly by a screech of pain as all three Psychic tridents buried themselves into her.

They shattered upon impact and then reformed as the single one in Green's hand again.

Green barely registered the heat he felt behind him, too focused on Scyther. She shook her head, visibly deciding to ignore the fact that a human- or not-human- was attacking her like this, and tried to rush forwards.

She hit an invisble wall and backed off, only to hit another one. Green had boxed her in with a Barrier shield.

"You're used to beating everyone you fight, aren't you?" Green asked, slowly coming towards her.

Scyther hissed and tried to hit the Barrier, tried to break it, but all her attacks did was make it visible for a split second before it faded into invisibility.

"Not used to a Trainer being the one to fight back." Green guessed. "Am I right? Not used to feeling pain?"

He opened his hand and the Psychic trident floated through the Barrier, hovering in front of Scyther, waiting for orders.

"I bet you hardly even know what pain feels like anymore." Green mused. "How about I show you?"

He jerked his hand and the trident shot forward, becoming solid. It buried itself in Scyther's eye.

She screamed and Green just smiled as the blood seeped out of the gaping hole of her eye, the trident dissolving soon after so he could see the damage done.

Beautiful.

Green tilted his head and then dark purple flames rose up inside of the Barrier, surrounding Scyther in a heartbeat. Somehow the Bug/Flying type saw the ghostly flames through her remaining eye and through the pain, and she gasped and staggered into the middle of the Barrier.

"You know what that is?" Green asked.

 _"Ye-y-yes."_ Scyther rasped weakly. _"G-Ghost-Ghostfire. B-but . . . how c-can a hu-human . . ."_

"I told you." Green replied calmly. "I'm **not human."**

Scyther's head snapped up and she gaped at him. Green could imagine what she was seeing- a child with glowing, purple eyes like the Ghostfire that surrounded her, and he knew she was scared of him. Well, this side of him at least.

He gave her another cruel smile. He didn't know why anymore, but all the same, Green really wanted to make her pay. Make her scream and beg for mercy he wouldn't give. Make her suffer.

The Ghostfire responded to his feelings, and it turned a darker purple- it turned into Poison Purple.

 _MOM!_

He flinched and turned around.

There was a Togetic hovering in the air, wings beating like a bug's, several metres away. Something told Green that he should know this pokemon, but he couldn't grasp why.

The Togetic spoke again, telepathically and out loud- possibly for Scyther's benefit, but Green couldn't care less about that.

 _Stop this!_ the Togetic pleaded. _Please, just stop! This isn't helping anyone!_

 **" . . . Stop . . .?"** Green repeated, suddenly feeling dull and numb.

 _Do . . . do you even recognise me?_ the Togepic whispered. _Mom, it's me! It's Tick!_

Tick? The name rang a bell, but it just echoed around Green's mind. It touched some memories which were probably important, but that was all it did.

 _Mom, calm down. Eon and me- we're both fine,_ Tick soothed. _I healed Eon, see?_

Tick pointed to an Eevee with a bent, slightly torn but bloodless ear, gaping at Green silently.

Green got the impression that silence was unnatural for the Eevee, but like with Tick, he had no idea why.

 _Mom._

He looked at the Togetic.

 _Please. Calm down,_ Tick begged softly.

 **"I can't . . .** I don't kn **ow why . . ."** Green's voice faltered and he staggered, gripping his head.

Suddenly it was like his entire body was on fire, but his head- his mind- was the worst.

 _It's alright . . ._ the Togetic gently soothed, suddenly right next to him. _It's okay. We're fine, Mom. Just calm down, that's it . . ._

Calming down hurt so much that Green almost wanted to go back to Poison Purple.

 _Don't go back to that,_ Tick instantly said. _That's a bad thing. Do you understand? Bad._

 **"Poison . . .** i-is bad . . .?"

Tick nodded slightly.

Green felt a small hand on his head, and he knew it was the Togetic's- and then suddenly all the pain went away and the darkness was rushing in.

When Green woke up, a few minutes later, he was curled up on his side.

His vision was strange and for a few seconds he thought he was blind, but then everything cleared up and he was able to see the grass and trees. He wondered why he was lying the ground.

Then it all came back to him and he sat up, terrified and startled- had he hurt anyone? Well, besides the Scyther, but even so he was worried about her too. Poison Purple had a habit of not being able to tell when to stop.

 _"Hey, hey, it's okay. You're fine."_

Green looked up. A Togetic- Tick?- was hovering in front of him with the kindest look on his face.

 _"You're fine."_ Tick repeated.

"Tick . . .?" Green faintly said. "I-is that . . .?"

 _"It's me. I don't think you really noticed, you were a bit busy losing your mind- but don't worry,"_ Tick added, when he saw Green's appalled expression. _"I'm not angry and you didn't hurt anyone."_

"But . . . Scyther . . . h-her eye . . ."

Tick winced. _"Ah . . . you do remember."_ he murmured. _"I healed her, but she's half blind. I . . . I won't lie to you, I was hoping you wouldn't remember so I could lie and say that me or Eon did it."_

"I e-enjoyed it . . ." Green whispered shakily. He tucked his knees under his chin and stared at a fixed spot on the ground blankly. "I . . . I'm a monster."

 _"Don't you dare talk like that!"_ Tick suddenly snapped, and Green flinched violently. The Togetic calmed down instantly and his voice was gentler as he carried on. _"Mom, you are not a monster. If anything, you're the complete opposite- if a little crazy. You're a good person. Tell me, what have you done that's made you a monster?"_

"I tried to kill Scyther!" Green exclaimed hopelessly. "And- and I'm not even human, I do illegal things on a regular basis-"

 _"Hush."_ Tick told him. _"I can contradict all of those. The illegal things? They don't matter, and I don't care what you say. Forget those things. And of course you're not human- you're a Deviant. I wouldn't want you any other way, because if you weren't, how would I be able to speak with you? How would I be able to use half the attacks I can right now? And as for you trying to kill Scyther . . . you weren't even in control. It was Poison Purple."_

"But-"

 _"Don't beat yourself up."_

A new voice suddenly joined their conversation, startling Green- but not Tick.

 _"Indeed."_ Scyther said. _"I would like to know how well you would do if you were in control of yourself, but I feel that the result would be the same- but less painful for me, I should think."_

Green squeaked and shrank away.

 _"Do not fret."_ the wild Bug told him. _"It is of no matter. Now . . . I apologise for changing the subject so suddenly and carelessly, but I request that you capture me and enter me as your Contest pokemon."_

" . . . What?"

 _"She's totally fine with it, too!"_ Eon exclaimed, bouncing over. _"Scyther says she really, really wants to train under you- especially since she knows you've got another Scyther, so you'll know how she battles! How cool is that?"_

Green had no idea what to say. So he just nodded numbly and let whatever was happening happen.

 _"The Contest is probably gonna be over in a few minutes, so you'd better catch her quick- and then we can get over to the centre of the park."_ Tick said.

 **oooo**

Green knew damn well that walking in with a Scyther that had a scarred hole for one eye was probably a bad idea, but he did it anyway.

Scyther herself just prowled next to him proudly, as if daring anyone to say anything to either her or him.

He was still kind of tired from losing control like that, so Green just sat on the grass and ignored the stares from the regulars- they were in total shock, pretty much all of them had tried to catch Scyther, and all of them had failed. And Green managed it.

Okay, he really needed to stop reading people's minds.

 _"I think they're announcing the winners."_ Tick said, craning his neck to see the Ranger and his Raichu.

Toni appeared next to Green, raising an eyebrow at him sitting down, but she said nothing and paid attention to the Ranger. For once.

"Now that you'll all back . . ." the Ranger began. "I'll get right to it, I'm sure you're all anxious to find out who gets third, second and first place."

 _"Damn straight we are!"_ someone's Pidgeotto shouted.

"In third place, we've got the Kantoian Trainer Bree- with a mighty Pinsir! Her prize is a Sitrus berry."

Huh. Guess that mean she wouldn't be getting her Everstone unless she asked whoever got second place for it then.

"Second place, the Johtoian Trainer Phoebe- with a very, very violent Caterpie. This actually reminds me of that one time some kid caught a Caterpie that kept Bug Biting everything in sight . . ." the Ranger muttered, shuddering slightly. "Phoebe's prize is the Everstone!"

"Aw." Toni whined.

 _"Green told Bree we'd give her the Everstone if we got it, don't worry."_ Tick told her.

"And first place, we've got the Johtoian Trainer Tommy- with his incredible Scyther! Who, I think, many of our regulars will actually recognise."

Green blinked. Wow. Okay.

Looked like he wouldn't have to trade or anything then.

"Now," the Ranger went on, before anyone could walk away or loudly complain about Green's catch. "The three winners get to keep their pokemon, sure, but we understand that some people don't always want to keep what they catch- so you three have a choice. Keep your pokemon, or release it. Come over and get your prizes and then decide after the Contest, alright? We don't need a Bug type going on a rampage. Again."

 _Wonder what he means by 'again',_ an Espeon muttered.

Green glanced over at him and did a double-take. The Espeon was standing next to Toni, and there was no sign of Fearless.

What the hell was the point in him trying to trick Fearless and Sightless into evolving if Toni was just gonna evolve one of them right off the bat?

In the end, Toni and Bree- who looked like she was about to ask for the Everstone, but Kate hit her with a wing and stopped her in time- decided to release their pokemon. So Green was the only one who kept his Bug type.

And, of course, Eon instantly demanded to touch the Fire Stone.

"Take your goggles off first." Green told him quietly, well aware of how his voice still shook slightly. "Give them- okay, now you can have the Stone."

 _"Finally!"_ Eon yelled.

Green put the Fire Stone on the floor, and Eon gently touched it with his paw.

In a rush of heat and light, Eon evolved- and, showing off his new element, covered his body in flames and spun around. The flames detached themselves and burned out.

 _"You stole that from_ Pokemon Underground _."_ Tick accused.

 _"So? Eon's evolution was the best thing in the entire series, and if I'm gonna be a Flareon called Eon as well, I need a dramatic evolution!"_ Eon replied hotly. No pun intended. _"Since we're not in the Lava Cavern, I can't battle Entei in a dramatic fight to the finish, so this will have to do. For now."_

"You've been kinda quiet." Toni said to Green. "Literally the only thing I've heard you say since we split up was that just now."

 _"He battled Scyther."_ Tick explained, looking over.

"So?"

 _"His eyes went purple."_

Toni was still confused.

 _"_ Poison _Purple."_ Tick clarified.

Toni was no longer confused.

"Ah." she said, somewhat in shock. "How . . . how'd you manage to stop him?"

 _"Last time you just shoved him against a wall and made him loose focus, right?"_ Tick checked. _"That's what I did- only I kind of made myself the focus instead of just hitting him. He wouldn't attack me, even if he was . . . well, Poison Purple."_

"Well, so long as he didn't kill anything . . ."

"I tried to kill Scyther." Green muttered.

"The hole looks awesome, if anything you've done her a favour." Toni shrugged. "Yo, Scyther."

 _"Greetings."_ Scyther nodded respectfully.

"Heh." Toni grinned. "I like her, she's funny. You gonna give her a name or what? Cus I ain't gonna call her by her species name. I'll call her Bladeless if you don't hurry up and-"

"Ziva." Green said over her. "Her . . . I'll call her Ziva."

"And you said we don't live in _NCIS_." Toni muttered.

Green frowned. "We _don't_." he told her, regaining a little bit of his spark- uh, figuratively that is.

 _"Excuse me?"_ a slightly familiar voice asked.

The group looked up as Kate the Butterfree- along with Bree and Zero- came over.

 _"I don't want to sound rude, but you did promise."_ Kate said, glancing at Toni. _"Is this your twin?"_

"Oooh nice tattoos." Toni grinned.

"Hey, your bro's Eevee- Flareon, sorry- said the exact same thing!" Bree exclaimed. "Cool!"

Toni glanced at Green. He shook his head to her unasked question.

"You're the one that wanted the Everstone, right?" Toni checked, taking the Stone out of her pocket. "Take it, I'm not that arsed about it."

"Sweet, thanks, now I can get an Eevee egg!" Bree cheered.

 _. . . What,_ Fearless said flatly.

 _"Hey-"_

 _"-nice-"_

 _"-Espeon."_ Zero commented.

"This is one very strange day." Toni muttered.

"How do you think I feel?" Green asked her. "Three of my pokemon evolved and I just got a new one, you literally can't say anything."

Ten minutes later, Green and Toni- along with their pokemon- made their way back to the cabin where their pokemon were being held.

"I stand corrected." Green sighed. "Four of my pokemon have evolved."

Ice looked up from where he was sitting on a man wearing black. _"I assure you,"_ the Feraligatr said. _"It was a very epic battle. By the way, if four pokemon evolved in one day, I think it's time to consider that you might need a hobby."_

"I have a hobby."

 _"Being a lunatic is not a hobby."_

 _"He has a point."_ Nameless, still a Bayleef, agreed. _"Though it'd be nice if I could also evolve, Toni . . ."_

"Slow and steady wins the race. Ain't you ever heard about the Buneary and the Torkoal?" Toni told him.

 _"Can you not?"_

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: And that's why you should never piss Green off. Incidently, I don't know if Ghostfire is an actual move, but if it is pretend that one doesn't exist and that this one is a near-Legendary grade attack.

Green: So it's like Toni's supercharged Thunder Beam?

Renny: *nods* But far, far worse and a lot more painful. Thunder Beam is more or less an attack that just vaporises things on impact (or by proximity) and doesn't give you a chance to feel pain. Ghostfire, on the other hand, can be controlled by the user to make the victim (opponent, whatever) feel more pain for longer.

Green: And that's what I was gonna do, then.

Renny: Well, you didn't know if Scyther- Ziva- had killed Tick and Eon, so basically yeah. Not exactly your fault either, Poison Purple is basically your insane side. And, as we discover here, Poison Purple doesn't distinguish between allies or foes, so it's best to keep the fuck away if Green ever gets into that mode.

Green: But there is one way of stopping me. Just make me lose focus somehow. Toni shoved me against a wall and Tick . . . uh, made himself my target. Wow, that was unbelievably stupid.

Renny: It worked, didn't it? And Green would never attack Tick, not even if he was in Poison Purple mode. Read and review! Please . . .


	12. Chapter 12- He's the WHAT?

Renny: In case it wasn't clear last chapter, Ice was literally sitting on a would-be pokemon thief. As he assured you, it was a very epic battle.

Green: Also, let's not forget the fact that, in your _LeafGreen_ Nuzlocke, Zero has a Timid nature. Here you made him completely different.

Renny: I can't figure out how a three-headed wingless bird that can use Aeroblast could be timid, so I just made him like that. Deal with it. I think there's at least two or three evolutions before Ecruteak, or at least before the Gym battle in both versions, so unfortunately we'll have to make do with skipping out on Lifeless's evolution.

Green: You need to figure out some way of pacing yourself.

Renny: Yeah, I know . . . but it's so hard! I need to write like fifteen different characters, and it was hard enough when I was writing _Redemption_ \- there's a reason I prefer writing for the _RGB_ or _RGBY_ chapters, you know.

Green: You are useless at this.

Renny: I'm not denying it. Also, has anyone noticed that this fic is moving a lot faster than _Redemption_? It's chapter twelve and already Green and Toni have gotten past Goldenrod. At this point in _Redemption_ , Green hadn't even gotten into Azalea.

Green: You just don't have any plot ideas. Also you want to move this along as fast as possible so you can get to the good bits.

Renny: Yeah, probably. Disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

From what Green knew of Ecruteak city, it was basically Lavender town but without the massive graveyard. And the sadness.

Probably because death was celebrated in Ecruteak actually. It was kind of like the Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, in Mexico. If someone in Ecruteak died, their spirit would be celebrated and memories would be told as stories to honour them. There were some theories that the Legendary Phoenix Ho-Oh was the origin of these celebrations, since Ecruteak was apparenlty his (or her) home.

Or one of their homes, anyway. Green knew for a fact that there was more than one Ho-Oh in the world.

But of course, he and Toni weren't there for the celebration of a dead person- they were there for a Deviant who hadn't yet been found or told about their abilities.

Right now, they were resting in their room in the pokemon centre- for some reason, Toni was watching the news. Green didn't ask why, half the time he just got some nonesense response about her looking to see what was wrong with the world this time.

He couldn't fault her. He did it too sometimes. Especially when that bastard of a prime minister Cameron was on TV . . .

Grumpig-fucker.

 _"Feel anything?"_ Eon asked.

Sightless shook out his fur and blinked slowly. He'd dislodged Green's hands when he'd shifted, but Green made no move to put them back. They'd been trying for the past half an hour.

 _"Nothing . . ."_ Sightless murmured sadly. _"I-I'll . . . I'll never b-be able to evolve . . ."_

"Don't feel too bad." Green reassured him. "If it makes you feel any better, I know a Deviant whose Eevee took three years to evolve into an Espeon. We've made some progress on this, and with your brother helping out, we'll get this within the next week- I promise."

Sightless looked at Green so intensely that it was like he could actually see him.

 _"Really?"_ he asked quietly. _"Y-you mean it?"_

"Give it a few minutes' rest, and we'll try again." Green nodded.

 _We'll get this, don't worry!_ Fearless exclaimed.

Their little joyful gathering was interrupted by Toni's loud voice.

"Hey, they're showing the Azalea thing on TV again." she said. "You wanna watch?"

"Why would I wanna do that?" Green asked her.

 _"Well, you could find out how they're explaining the broken Gym."_ Tick pointed out.

Green blinked. Oh, that made sense.

And he hadn't actually seen this before, he and Toni had avoided it like the plague in case they were mentioned somehow. Knowing Red, he'd probably been interviewed and he'd been eager to tell the press about the twins with the psychotic Rotom. Oh, and their insane big sister.

Green turned up the volume so everyone in the room could hear it, and they all paid attention, ignoring Sparkless's comments in the background as usual (unless they were of some importance).

 _"Almost four weeks ago,"_ the TV presenter was saying. _"Azalea town was the target of a potential terrorist attack. By now I'm sure you all know about this, but for those of you who don't- a terrorist group known as Team Sovereign took the entire town hostage, and were planning to ransom them. Investigations are ongoing as to why, but for now we can rest easy."_

 _"Yeah, right."_ Hopeless muttered. Lifeless, who had evolved a few days ago during a training session, gave her a light whack on the head with his detached fist. _"Ow, son of a-"_

 _"Sssh."_ Ice snapped.

 _"Currently no information has been found."_ the man went on. _"However, just hours after the event took place, we were able to gain exclusive interviews with some people who were involved in this attack. The most important of which were the interviews of a young boy and girl who actually stopped the attack, but could not hold the Team long enough for the police to arrive- at least, not the leader. They managed to detain several of the grunts, however."_

"Wait, are they saying _Red and Blue_ did that?" Toni demanded.

"Better them than us." Green shrugged. "I'd be worried if it somehow got known that _we_ did all that, it'd mean Rena didn't do her job properly or one of those two spilled."

"Okay, fine, it's a good thing."

On the screen, they were showing an interview with Red and Blue- who didn't look at all shaken up and were in fact incredibly calm.

Green had actually wondered how, when they were both just starting Trainers. It didn't make much sense. But he hadn't gotten the chance to ask, because the press apparently loved the two of them. He also didn't know the reason behind that either.

 _"What exactly happened here?"_ the reporter was asking.

 _"I'm pretty sure other people have told you."_ Red said, with his usual amount of grace. _"Team Sovereign attacked the town and we got caught up in it. Me and Blue managed to convince some of the grunts to take us to their leader- some freak called Merek, I think- to try and bargain with him."_

 _"It would have worked if-"_ Blue suddenly paused, looking like she'd forgotten what she was gonna say. Then she shook it off and carried on. _"It would have worked if the police hadn't arrived, so I guess we're lucky that we're not being used as ransom hostages or something."_

 _"That's something, at least."_ the reporter agreed. _"But I'm sure the two of you could have gotten out of that situation regardless. But I'm afraid we'll have to move away from this topic- a lot of our viewers, and my employers, for that matter, are wondering something. Exactly what happened by the Gym?"_

The TV switched to pictures showing the Gym, half of it collapsed and broken and the other half unexplicably vaporised. It switched back to the interview as Red was answering.

 _"Well,"_ he began, pausing much like Blue had- but his pause lasted no longer than a heartbeat. _"Pika kind of went overboard. He hasn't had a battle for a while, so he went nuts on the Thunder."_

 _"We'll pay for the damage."_ Blue added, ignoring Red's _"What? No we won't!"_.

 _"At least there's an explanation."_ the reporter chuckled good-naturedly. _"Though I'm sure paying for the damages done won't be an issue for either of you."_

 _"Fine, I'll pay for it."_ Red sighed, after Blue glared at him.

 _"You're such a kind boy."_ the reporter said, smiling. _"Just what we'd expect from the Champion of Kanto-Johto."_

"He's the _WHAT_!?" Green shrieked.

"Aww, they didn't mention us at all." Toni whined.

"Toni- Toni, I-I think you're missing the point!" Green yelped, turning to her. "Red's the- he's- holy motherfucking goddamn pissing Arceus on a fucking roasted stick, _Red's the Champion_!"

 _"You didn't know?"_ Nameless asked, surprised.

Green turned on him. "Of course I didn't!" he snapped. "He- I wouldn't- I wouldn't have been so rude to him if I'd have known!"

"Dude, don't lie." Toni told him.

"Okay fine, maybe I would have been." Green admitted reluctantly. "But that's beside the point! I-if Red's the Champion, he . . . that means he isn't a starting Trainer. That-that means _Blue_ isn't a starting Trainer!"

 _"She was the first runner-up in the League last year."_ Ice informed him, with what could have been an eyebrow raised. _"Red beat her."_

 _"I guess this explains why you were surprised that she has a Blastoise."_ Nameless observed. _"We honestly thought you knew and just didn't care."_ He sounded really apologetic, but it wasn't his fault.

By this point, Green kind of felt like he was having some sort of panic attack. Probably wasn't far off the mark, actually.

At least that explained how Red and Blue had gotten into Right's mansion without winning the talent show. It also explained Red's haughty attitude, as if he was so much better than Green- simply because, at the moment, he actually was.

And let's not forget how Merek had basically been prepared to trade an entire town for two people- the fact that one was the current Champion and the other was the damn runner-up was enough to make anyone change their minds.

"Hey, Green, cool down." Toni soothed. "So what if he's the Champ? He's still a dick."

"But he's a powerful dick!" Green snapped, voice high-pitched. "He could easily use his status just to get rid of every pokemon I've caught since coming to Johto, he could . . . he could even make being gay illegal again, if he wants to! That'd be one more offence to add to the damn list!"

 _"I'm pretty sure he doesn't have that much influence."_ Ice muttered.

 _"What's the big deal?"_ Amethyst asked. _"I mean, why does being a Champion mean anything? Is this another one of those human things I don't get?"_

 _"Most likely."_ Twin muttered, just as confused. _"I believe we do not understand because we are not city-born."_

 _"From what I have heard,"_ Ziva said. _"Being Champion is something like . . . a leader, I would assume. In your flock, your leader is a Queen or King. To humans, their Champion is most probably that."_

 _" . . . That's impressive and worrying."_ Lifeless said.

 _"An asshole like that has that much power? It's more worrying than impressive."_ Hopeless scoffed.

"WOULD YOU ALL SHUT UP!?" Green yelled.

Everyone went silent, staring at him with wide or slightly-offended eyes.

"For the love of Mew, I don't think anyone gets this!" he went on. "Red and Blue- they- holy mother of Mew, I can't even . . . Red's the Champion? And Ice and Nameless knew!? Why did neither of you say a word about this? It would have been real nice to know!"

 _"Well . . ."_ Gemless spoke up, looking nervous to be saying anything. _"I sort of knew as well? When you told me about Red and Blue, I wasn't . . . entirely sure that they were the people I thought of, so I kept quiet. If I'd know they were the same people, I would have said something."_

"Well." Green said breathlessly. "At least there's that. But . . . how am I supposed to act around them now? Red pretty much hates me! T-the Champion of Kanto-Johto, also one of the most powerful Trainers in the world, hates everything that I stand for! I-I . . . I can't . . . breathe . . ."

"Ice, we're gonna need a Water Gun!" Toni cried, grabbing Green from behind.

Ice half rose from his seat on the floor and shot a weak burst of water at Green's face.

The cold water brought him back to his senses, and Green spluttered for a few seconds, spitting out the water he'd accidently swallowed, and shook his head.

"Thanks." he murmured, putting his head in his hands.

 _"Kid, you've got some serious mental issues."_ Ice bluntly told him.

"I'm half Psychic, I already know that."

 **oooo**

Unlike the TV report, finding the Deviant in Ecruteak was surprisingly easy. It was some sixteen year old girl called Alice, and she was a Ghost typed Deviant.

Like with Sammy, she accepted the fact that she wasn't exactly human graciously, saying that it explained why she had a better connection with pokemon- to the point where she could understand them- than people. She also showed off her Gengar, which had come bursting out of the ground and had terrified everything within sight.

Alice agreed to go to the city, and had told Green and Toni that she would tell her parents she was going on a journey and would visit sometime in the future- if, of course, her travels allowed her. In other words, if Neron allowed her.

So basically it went so smoothly that Green was wondering if something else was gonna happen.

And, as usual, it did. With about as much subtlety as a dying Wailord.

"So, basically, the problem is mostly that you don't think you can do it." Green was explaining. "I'm not saying it's your fault entirely, some of it is me as well- I'm the one trying to get you to evolve- but you could try thinking a little less negatively next time we try."

 _"Right."_ Sightless agreed, as he walked beside his Trainer's best friend. _"But it's all subconscious, isn't it?"_

 _What if you tried just thinking positively, and ignored all the negativeness?_ Fearless suggested.

"I'm pretty sure it don't work like that." Toni pointed out.

 _Then I'll keep the negativeness away while Green tries to evolve my brother! Simple._

"It's actually not simple, Fearless." Green frowned. "We can't just assume that-"

He crashed into someone and was only saved from falling over by Toni.

"Son of a-" a familiar began, then broke off in shock.

Green glanced up and froze.

Red was similarly unmoving, though he was less shocked than Green was.

"Oh, not again." Blue muttered as she hurried over. "Red, don't go mad at him like you did last time, oka-"

Green squeaked in panic and Teleported away before he knew what he was doing. But because he was panicking, he only managed to Teleport a few feet and ended up falling into a nearby pond, wide eyed and very wet.

" . . . What." Red said.

Oh shit.

 _Sorry!_ Fearless cringed. _He was panicking and I wanted to get him away before he started having another panic attack . . . I'm not very good with Teleport yet._

Thank Mew for Fearless. And thank Mew he was an Espeon, they at least had an explanation as to how Green just Teleported randomly.

"Well," Blue said, blinking rapidly. "Okay then. But why was he panicking to begin with? And why 'another' panic attack?"

Green was getting out of the pond, shivering (because it was winter and getting wet was ill-advised), while Toni answered for him.

"Oh, we found out a few hours ago that you're the Champion." she told Red and Blue. "And that you're the runner-up. How come you never told us?"

"I think we just kept getting interrupted every time we tried." Blue sighed. Then she brightened up and smirked at Green. "That was adorable, by the way. How you just panicked like that. You got a crush on him now that you know he's famous as balls?"

"A crush?" Red echoed disdainfully. "On me? Like I'd go out with some unnatural freak of-"

"I don't give a fuck if you're the damn Champion, I'll rip your intestines out and feed them to Toothless!" Green snapped.

Luckily neither of the Kantoian Trainers seemed to be too bothered about who Toothless was.

They did, however, look slightly horrified at Green's threat.

"Hahaha I'm sorry, my brother's a freak, just ignore him." Toni laughed nervously, shoving Green. "He doesn't mean it. Probably."

"Fills me with confidence, that . . ." Red muttered.

Well, at least Green had gotten over his panic at Red's being the Champion. He was still just an ass with no respect for Green's sexuality whatsoever. He was also just generally a dickhead. Which kind of helped to negate the whole 'he's a Champion' thing.

He was also curious to find out how Red and Blue percieved the events of Azalea town. On TV it had seemed like someone had done a last-minute mind trick on them, which was probably Rena's doing.

 _Hello,_ Tick was greeting Red and Blue. Mostly Blue. _Mom told me about you two._

"Weren't you a Togepi last we saw you?" Blue tilted her head a little.

 _I evolved,_ the Togetic explained. _It was a cool battle._

Leaving out the fact that _he'd_ almost been killed and _Green_ had almost gone off the deep end again.

"Hey, have you still got that insane Rotom?" Red suddenly demanded, looking at Toni. "Because if you do, I'm questioning the sanity you might not have."

Sparkless popped out from behind Toni, shouting a continuous _"Boo!"_ which startled Red so much he almost tripped over. Annoyingly, he didn't.

But at least that answered that question- but Green wondered exactly what they thought of the interview. And also why Rena hadn't wiped their minds about his and Toni's involvement with the Azalea incident.

"Get rid of it, that thing's a murderer!" Red yelled, flailing his arms around.

"The hell he is!" Green replied.

"The hell I will!" Toni said at the same time.

The argument would probably gotten violent if Blue- and Fearless and Tick- hadn't stepped in quick enough.

But of course, Red was the biggest and shoved past her easily. He grabbed Green by the collar threateningly and was about to hit him-

And then someone else intervened.

"Hey, hey, back off!" the man said, shoving Red back. "You may be the Champ but you don't pick on little kids."

Toni, of course, overreacted and rushed at the man. She knocked him over, loudly squealing happily.

"Uncle!" she exclaimed.

"Oof . . . okay, hi to you too . . . now please stop choking me." Morty wheezed, patting Toni on the back.

Toni jerked back and hopped off him, looking sheepish. Morty stood up, brushing himself off, and smiled at her.

"Next time you want to hug someone, at least make sure you don't hit them hard enough to knock over." he told her.

"I'm used to hugging Rena." Toni shrugged. "And G- Tommy just Tel- dodges each time I try to hug him."

"You ever heard of the kiss of life?" Green demanded. "Your hugs are the complete opposite."

Toni stuck out her tongue.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Blue cried, looking shocked. "Your uncle is Morty? Gym Leader Morty?"

"Yeah?" Toni blinked.

"She's just surprised, that's all." Morty reassured her. "But _I'm_ surprised you didn't say anything. You normally inform everyone you meet about me."

No, they actually didn't, because neither Toni nor Green were related to him. But they just called him Uncle because he acted like one.

Morty wasn't Deviant, no. He was just a normal psychic. Ethan had met him once or twice apparently, and he was one of the few humans outside of the city who knew about the existance of said city and its' non-human inhabitants. He'd met Toni and Green on several occasions when he traveled to England, and even though he'd never been inside the city, Morty knew exactly what it looked like. He was cool.

So, uncle.

It was probably a good thing that Morty had shown up, because Green had seen Toni on the verge of charging up a Thunder Beam, or at the very least a Thunderbolt.

Morty took them back to his Gym, keeping close to Toni and Green. Most likely in case Red tried anything, but it seemed like Blue was keeping him on a tight leash. And a good thing too, Green would have broken his mind for a couple of Rattata tails.

No, he wouldn't eat them. Maybe he'd give them to Twin.

And since it was basically night time, Green thought he'd have another go with Sightless. In another room to where Toni, Morty, Red and Blue were of course. It'd look less suspicious.

 _Remember, positive,_ Fearless told his brother.

Sightless nodded and closed his eyes, taking a deep, calming breath. Green wasn't going to intrude on his thoughts and see what he was thinking of, so he just put his hands on the Eevee's head and concentrated.

 _Happiness._

A key factor in what made some pokemon- Fearless and Tick, for example- evolve. It could manifest in the form of friendship, or in some cases when a pokemon was trying to save its Trainer.

Or a completely random but welcome evolution, which was basically what had happened with Toni and Fearless during the Bug Catching Contest.

TV shows often showed happiness evolutions- friendship evolutions- as a dramatic and amazing experience, but the real truth was that it was a hard thing to do.

But worth the time and effort.

A sudden blast of heat startled Green. His eyes flew open and he jumped away from Sightless, watching with wide eyes as his shape changed within the growing light.

Sightless opened his eyes- which were completely red, unlike many Umbreons- and pricked his ears.

 _"Did it work?"_ he asked.

"Try a Screech." Green suggested.

Sightless frowned, but he didn't question it. He opened his mouth and took a deep breath, and Screeched.

It wasn't loud, and if Green was a human he wouldn't have been able to hear it. As it was, the Screech Sightless used was more or less a low-pitched sonar which would map out the room. They'd practised it when he'd been an Eevee, getting the pitch just right, but of course he didn't know the actual move so it never worked.

So when Sightless's eyes widened and he looked around the room in shock, and then at Green, it was like Christmas coming early.

 _"I can see."_ Sightless said softly. _"It's- it's strange, kind of like . . . a digital thing, almost, and the Screech is bouncing off everything continuously, but . . . I-I can see."_

Green grinned.

 _"T-thank you!"_ Sightless yelped, wagging his fox-like tail rapidly. _"Thank you so, so much, Green! I-I can't wait to show Toni!"_

 **oooo**

"Oh my Mew, this is amazing!" Toni shouted.

She sprang up and rushed forwards to crush Green in her Death Grip, but he stepped aside and let her smack into the door- which he'd closed with a secret Psychic that no one but Morty noticed.

" . . . Ow." Toni muttered. She peeled herself away from the door and gave Green a cold glare.

"I'm terrified." he said flatly, and wandered over to sit next to their 'uncle'.

"Hey, you got a pair now!" Blue congratulated Toni. "That's a pretty good combo, actually. I don't think many people realise how good Umbreon and Espeon are."

"You were gone for like ten minutes." Red frowned at Green. "How did you manage to evolve a pokemon that isn't even yours?"

"I'm awesome." Green replied flippantly.

Red bristled instantly. "That's not an answer!" he snapped.

"It's all you're gonna-"

"Boys, please." Morty broke in. "Try to behave while you're here. And most likely some of the Ghosts had a hand in this, they love helping other pokemon evolve."

 _By scaring them half to death,_ Green muttered.

Morty sent him a stern look.

 _. . . Sorry._

"Fine, whatever." Red muttered.

Morty looked at Red for a few seconds, and then at Green. He raised an eyebrow.

 _How exactly do you know him?_ Morty asked.

 _I only found out today that he's the Champion,_ Green offered. _But I know enough to call him a complete dickhead._

 _Now, now, don't be like that. You know he's the Champ, so aren't you curious as to why he's here?_

Green perked up, surprised. He hadn't actually thought of that since finding out, actually. Granted, the question would have arose at some point, but it might have taken a while to do so.

Morty seemed to know the priority, however.

"It must be cool having a psychic for an uncle." Blue said, looking over from Toni and Sightless. "He can read your mind and you can talk that way, right?"

"Uh, yeah." Green agreed, leaving out the fact that they'd been sending back and forth rather than a one-way thing.

"And he's also wondering why a Champion and the runner-up are in Johto." Morty announced. "Red, Blue, would you like to explain or shall I?"

"If I talk to him I'll end up hitting him." Red scoffed, crossing his arms. "Freak of-"

Toni plonked herself down next to Green, paying no attention to his glare, and gave Red a casual look. Sparkless zipped around her head.

Red shut up.

"Fine, _I'll_ tell them." Blue snapped, losing her patience with him. She turned to Green and Toni. "Red and I were sent here to investigate these Team Sovereign people. The League people thought that, since we handled Team Rocket last year, we could take care of these people as well. Unfortunately we know next to nothing about them, except from their name and that they're basically terrorists. What happened in Azalea wasn't actually much of an accident, Red and I had been sent there by the Chairman to save the entire town."

"So you already knew?" Green asked, somewhat startled.

"Yeah- what we didn't count on was running into you two again." the girl sighed, and looked at them apologetically. "Normally I wouldn't care, but you're younger than us and you're just starting Trainers. Red and I had hoped to defuse the situation by tricking Team Sovereign into ransoming us instead of the entire town, and then fighting back and driving them out. We'd capture a few, for the police to question, of course."

"But then you two just had to ruin everything, didn't you?" Red sharply commented.

"I didn't hear about this." Morty said, blinking calmly. "The news reports made it sound like you'd done all the work yourselves, and the only reason you couldn't do your job properly was because the police arrived too soon."

"That's the thing!" Red exclaimed. "We have no idea why we said that!"

"It was like someone Hypnotised us." Blue agreed.

Morty looked at Green, who shook his head slightly. His mind abilities hadn't been as good as his offensive and defensive Psychic capabilities at that point, so it had been Rena who had done the job.

"Do you know something?" Red demanded.

He was more observant than Green gave him credit for.

"No, of course not." Green told him. "As you said, we're just starting Trainers."

"Which is something else that confuses me." Blue spoke up before Red could try and force anything out of Green. "You're starting Trainers, yet . . . your twin sister has a Rotom, and you've got a Togepi with Psychic powers strong enough to ward off an insane Arbok. Care to explain that?"

"I got lucky with Sparkless, met him before we started." Toni explained happily. She'd always been a good story-teller. "He kinda blew up half a mile of buildings when I tried to catch him, though . . ."

That, at least, was true. What she was leaving out was that _she'd_ been the one who'd blown up half a mile of buildings, and all Green could think of at the time was 'thank Mew no one's in there'. Of course now he was wondering if any of the Sinnoh authorities had seen the explosions.

"Right, that's you." Blue looked at Green. "What about you? And how'd you manage to evolve it-"

"Him." Green corrected.

"-him into a Togetic in such a short time?" Blue continued flawlessly.

"Professor Elm gave me his egg. Tick loves me and I love him." Green shrugged, looking up at Tick with a smile. "He sees me as his, well, mother- and I guess I see him as my kid. You know? I guess that just helped."

 _Among other things,_ Tick warmly pointed out.

"Yeah, what he said."

"How can a human male be a pokemon's mother?" Red wondered. "Is it because you're a freak of nature?"

Green narrowed his eyes. Morty put a hand in front of him, stopping any retort he would have said, and cooly looked at Red.

"I'm gay myself." he explained, not reacting to Red's strangled gasp. "And I have a boyfriend. Would you like to call me a freak of nature as well, or does it just apply to my nephew?"

"Uh- n-no, I mean- I don't mean to _offend_ anyone-" Red spluttered.

"Just as I thought." Morty nodded, looking down at Green. "He's got no idea what he's talking about."

Green smiled and Toni cackled loudly. Blue had to cover her mouth and shrugged when Red glanced at her, looking betrayed.

"May we get back to our original subject, before you insult just about half of our family again?" Morty calmly requested.

Green could see that Blue wanted to ask what he meant by 'half of our family', but she held her tongue. She wasn't like Red, so maybe he could tell her at some point- provided said asshole wasn't in the same room at the time, of course.

"Yeah, what were you doing in Violet city then?" Toni asked them. "Because it sure as hell weren't anything to do with Sammy."

"You're right, Red wouldn't have bothered even if that had been our reason." Blue nodded at her. "We had to talk to Right, in case there'd been any activity in Violet city that he deemed as suspicious- you know, Team Sovereign suspicious. He didn't really know anything, but we'd already gone in and said that we were there for Sammy like you two were, so we couldn't exactly just leave suddenly."

"We could have, Blue just wanted to see what she could swipe." Red said, looking slightly bored. "Didn't you take seven or eight nuggets out of some store room?"

"I did not!" Blue snapped.

"So you're bag just got magically lumpier, is that it?"

"Eh." Blue shrugged, suddenly not bothered about hiding it. "I needed some quick quid, and that guy has loads of nuggets- he wouldn't miss nine or ten of them. Or twenty."

"Wow, you're worse than Tommy." Toni laughed. "He broke into-"

"Phoebe, shut it!" Green snapped.

Blue looked interested, but Green silenced anything else Toni was about to tell her with a glare and a sharp reminder about their mission through telepathy.

Blue didn't need to know that he'd broken into Cameron's house and had trashed the place beyond recognition. Nope, she did not need to know at all.

Maybe if she ever knew about the Deviant thing, but right now she thought he was just a normal starting Trainer- and younger than her, at that. Couldn't have a kid breaking into the prime minister's house without any questions coming up.

"Broke into what, exactly?" Blue asked, a glint in her eyes. It was the same one she'd gotten when she'd first laid eyes on Sparkless.

" _Nothing_." Green snapped.

"I'll find out somehow." Blue promised him.

Green was slightly worried.

Oh well, he supposed he could just erase her memory after he told her . . .

Great, now he was thinking like Rena. Absolutely fucking perfect. At least he wasn't half Dragon.

"Hey, can I ask something?" Toni suddenly said, breaking Green out of his thoughts.

She was talking to Blue, obviously, but Red was the one who answered.

"You just did." he told her flatly.

"I ain't talking to you, fuck-face." Toni snapped. "Blue?"

"You gonna take me away so you can tell me what your brother broke into?" Blue instantly asked.

"No, that'll be later." Toni promised. Green hissed at her. "Actually, I wanna ask you to battle me!"

Silence met her words.

And then-

"WHAT THE FUCK." Red bellowed.

"Red, language!" Blue scolded. "There's two kids-"

"Fuck wanker shit bollocks." Green promptly deadpanned.

"Motherfucking asswhipe!" Toni brightly replied.

"-who clearly don't give a crap, nevermind." Blue sighed. "But still. If there had been a kid here who'd never heard that sort of language, you would have . . . done exactly what I would have done, but the point still stands."

Red sighed.

Green really, really liked Blue. She was basically Rena but younger. That was epic beyond comparison.

No, he wasn't confessing his love for her. He was into the other team, and he saw Blue like he saw Rena- as a very insane older sister. It wasn't like some sort of old rival love thing, for the ever-loving fuck.

"Why do you wanna battle me, anyway?" Blue asked Toni. "I got second place in the Mew-dammed _League_ , you're just a newbie Trainer. You might have a small chance with that crazy Rotom, but otherwise . . ."

"Aw, but it'll be fun!" Toni whined. "Me and Tommy could team up against you and Red, it'd be like a double-date!"

"What?" Red and Green asked.

"I said nothing." Toni said innocently. "So, double-battle? Me and my bro versus you and ass-face?"

"It's Red!" Red snapped.

"Sure, whatever you say, Champ Tramp." Toni waved her hand lazily.

Red's eye twitched. "What."

"You guys." Blue grinned. "I love you. You're amazing."

"Thanks!" Green and Toni chorused.

"I hate them!" Red said loudly.

"No one particularly likes you either." Morty informed him.

 **oooo**

 _"You know, there's most likely an easy way to do this."_ Balthazar commented.

"Ah, shuddup mushroom-head." Rena grinned, checking around the corner for any guards posted.

Didn't look like Team Sovereign were the type to post guards, though- if anything she'd seen so far was anything to go by.

 _"We could just easily have Phoenix or North carry us up."_ Balthazar went on. The Breloom walked after her, not bothered with such a trivial thing such as hiding. _"I don't see why we have to climb all the way up like this. Also, you could just Teleport us- you've been here before."_

"But that's just boring!" Rena exclaimed. "Besides, we're actually _getting paid_ to make sure these freaks are out of the Bell Tower, and the only way to do that-"

 _"-also could have been to do a mental sweep."_ Balthazar deadpanned.

"You're no fun." Rena pouted, then swept him behind a statue of Ho-Oh as some people dressed in what looked like white armour walked through the hallway ahead of them.

Silently, Balthazar took out a small image from Rena's pocket and they both looked at it and compared it to the armoured people they'd just seen.

 _"That'd be them."_ the Breloom muttered, keeping his voice down now that they were so close to the enemy. _"Looks like we didn't get to the top in time."_

"Would have honestly preferred to head them off before they got there, and not gotten Phoenix and North involved." Rena hissed. "Come on, we can't do that now- let's follow them."

 _"The element of surprise is still in our favour."_

Rena nodded in agreement and they followed the Team Sovereign grunts, occasionally dropping back a few hallways and following their minds instead of their footsteps. It was easy- these people thought so loudly despite the helmets that they wore.

Maybe the helmets made their thoughts louder, like echos in a cave.

At least they weren't noticed, and besides, if anyone had noticed them? Rena would have erased their minds easily.

Sometimes, she thought, Psychic attacks came to her better than Dragon. But other times it was the other way around.

She and Balthazar followed the grunts up several staircases, and eventually they came to an open-roofed room. It was the exact same size as any of the previous floors, just without all the hallways- it was a single room big enough to fit several massive pokemon in comfortably.

Rena quickly ducked behind a statue of what looked like a poor mockery of Suicune, Balthazar following just before the grunts looked around, checking they were alone.

Their leader, who was wearing what looked like black and white armour as opposed to just white, stepped forward and looked around.

"It's not here." he said, voice echoing strangely through the massive room despite the lack of roof.

Rena glanced at Balthazar, who sighed and nodded.

They stepped out from behind the statue and Rena whistled to get their attention.

Several of the grunts grabbed what looked like strange imitations of Honedges, but they weren't alive. The man who seemed to be their leader walked towards them slowly, as if he had all the time in the world, and Rena noticed how the grunts parted to let him pass.

Was he the true leader, or was he like Merek? The black and white armour could signify that he was a higher-up, maybe an Admin, but not the leader. Rena guessed that the real leader would have pure black armour.

"And who might you be?" the man asked coldly but politely.

"None of your business." Rena replied. "But what I can tell you is that this country's Ho-Oh isn't here right now."

"We know that already." the man said. "We are simply looking for the Clear- _this_ country's?"

Rena answered by pointing upwards.

Twin screeches split through the air and suddenly massive talons gripped several of the grunts, tearing through them like paper. Several more were lifted without even being touched and were flung clear out of the tower itself, to where Rena had no idea.

The man who probably wasn't the true leader glanced up, as if the slaughtering of his men was nothing more than background noise.

He didn't seem at all shocked about the Ho-Oh and Lugia which were doing the slaughtering.

"Hm." was all he said. "It seems I was outsmarted. I'll have to report this, girl."

With that said, he sent out an Abra and vanished. Rena didn't bother to trace the Teleport, there would be other chances to get him.

The slaughtering of the grunts had stopped, with no one left to escape with the man whose name Rena didn't even know. Ah well, at least he didn't know hers- and he wouldn't remember what she'd look like either. So much for that report he was gonna make.

 _"Thank you for getting us in on this."_ a heavily-accented voice said.

Rena looked up at the two large Russian birds.

"No worries, Phoenix." she said to the Ho-Oh. "Hey, North, how'd you like your day-trip?"

 _"I see not why I had to make the journey."_ the Lugia muttered. _"You could have easily put us in our pokeballs, could you not?"_

 _"Lighten up, you need the exercise."_ Phoenix quipped.

North eyed him disdainfully.

"Thanks for doing this, though." Rena broke in before a fight could break out. The Russian birds were forever rivals and always bickered even at the best of times. "And on such short notice. You sure the weather birds aren't gonna destroy Russia's climate while you're gone, North?"

 _"I am certain."_ North scoffed. _"I put Keene in charge."_

 _"The Articuno?"_ Balthazar asked incredulously. _"Was that a wise choice?"_

 _"Probably not, but it was amusing to me."_

The Guardian of the Russian Sea rose into the air, beating his wings gracefully, and flew out of the Bell Tower.

Phoenix watched him go and rolled his eyes, glancing back down at Rena and Balthazar.

 _"The old coot never says bye at all, I swear."_ he said. _"I'd best be getting back as well- Raikou, Entei and Suicune tend to worry when I'm off on a mission in another country. Even if said mission was assigned by my own damn Trainer."_

"North's trio _like_ it when he's gone and your's _hate_ it when you're gone." Rena shook her head. "What are you Russians like?"

 _"Very cold. And generally awesome. I will see you around, Rena, Balthazar."_

Phoenix beat his own wings and flew back to Russia, after North.

 _"It's always an interesting experience when we see those two."_ Balthazar said.

"Least they're not boring." Rena pointed out.

 _"Well, there is that."_

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Green and Toni finally find out about Red being the Champ! And Toni misses the point, as per usual. The battle's gonna be next chapter, I swear, I just wanted to show Rena doing something. I can't always focus on the main characters, you know!

Green: Also you just wanted to show everyone that she's got a few Legendaries.

Renny: That too. And that they're Russian. Because why the hell not. Also, very sad news- you know the two pokemon from Bree's team? Well, I was playing my _LeafGreen_ Nuzlocke. And the game froze.

Green: That's bad why?

Renny: Because it froze when I was saving.

Green: *winces* Ah.

Renny: Yeah. I had to turn it off because what else could I do, and I lost every single pokemon I had on the team- luckily I could remember each of them, even though there was ten (which is a large number in comparison to the normal amount I have), and they're still living on. So basically . . .

 **R.I.P**

 **Nico the Raticate**

 **Pin the Nidoqueen**

 **Kate the Butterfree**

 **Rita the Fearow**

 **Vixen the Ninetales**

 **Marco the Vaporeon**

 **Zero the Dodrio**

 **Kris the Porygon**

 **Tabitha the Rhydon**

 **Watersong the Lapras**

 **(in order of capture/whatever)**

Renny: Obviously I just gave away spoilers to anyone reading this, because every one of them is basically Bree's team. As if Kate and Zero didn't make it obvious. By the way, my starter- an Ivysaur called Sunburst- isn't on there because Giovanni's Kangaskhan killed him in Celadon. R.I.P all of you badass pokemon. They'll still be Bree's team though, so don't worry. Read and review!


	13. Chapter 13- Lacking in Seriousness

Renny: I would just like to preface this by saying that no Deviant takes anything seriously.

Green: Even life or death situations?

Renny: _Especially_ those. If there is something that they can do to make the situation less dramatic, they _will do it_ , and _no one_ can stop them. Not even Adrik and Kiara are exceptions to this. I've made up my mind.

Green: Your mind is weird.

Renny: I'm not denying it. Disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

"This is a double-battle between Champion Red and runner-up Blue, and the twins Tommy and Phoebe Me . . . Meno . . ."

"Just say Menny, it's easier." Green called.

"Tommy and Phoebe Menny." the referee continued gratefully. "It'll be a two-on-two battle-"

"Does that mean we can use two pokemon each?" Toni asked, raising her hand.

"No, he means we have one pokemon each but it's two-on-two because it's a double-battle." Green explained.

"Oooh, yeah, that makes sense."

The referee waited for a couple of seconds, and then carried on. "This is not a Championship battle, so if Tommy and Phoebe manage to beat Red and Blue- though that's basically impossible-"

"Stick your head in a furnace, we might win!" Green snapped.

Morty snorted from his seat in the stands.

"You shut up!" Green spat at him.

" _Anyway_ ," the referee said loudly. "If Tommy and Phoebe manage to defeat Red and Blue, neither of them will get their titles, and-"

"I don't wanna be a Champion though!" Toni shouted. "That'd be boring!"

"And forget being the runner-up, I am not second-best to fucking anyone." Green agreed.

"And when Red and Blue defeat Tommy and Phoebe-"

"How come it's an 'if' with us but with them it's a-" Green began.

" _Will you shut I'm trying to explain the rules here_." the referee snapped.

"Sorry, continue."

"You guys really don't take _anything_ seriously, do you?" Blue called.

"What made you think we did?" Toni asked her.

" _BE QUIET_." the referee bellowed.

Everyone shut up.

"Thank you." he hissed. "No dirty fighting, and please for the love of whatever you hold dear, do not make this an Endless Battle. I'm sick of you two already, don't piss me off anymore than you already have."

"Alright, fine, mister pissy-pants." Green scoffed.

The referee bristled and even the humans in the room could feel the heated rage coming off him.

" . . . I'm sorry?" Green offered meekly.

"I'm watching you." the man growled. "Get your damn pokeballs out and pray that the only words that come out of my mouth are 'the pokemon is down' or something along those lines."

Sheesh, he was touchy.

Green rolled his eyes and picked out Ice's pokeball, and then had an idea. He quickly sent the idea to Toni, who giggled quietly and pulled out Nameless's pokeball.

He wasn't gonna see what pokemon Red and Blue were gonna choose. That'd be cheating, and Green didn't wanna piss off the referee- he was probably psychic as well, or at the very least inhuman, even compared to _his_ standards.

"Three!" the referee called, starting the countdown.

The four Trainers got their pokeballs ready.

"Two!"

Toni suddenly paused.

"One-"

"WAIT!" Toni screamed.

Green jumped away from her, wincing.

"Sorry. I just wanna ask something!" Toni called.

"What now." the referee sighed, just barely keeping his cool.

" . . . Is this gonna be on camera?" Toni asked, looking around warily.

Oh, that was a good question actually. If they got recorded, it would be really, really bad news- him and Toni battling against the Champion and the runner-up wouldn't be kept a secret for very long and their cover might as well go out the window if that happened.

"No." the referee said, looking surprised that it was a sensible question. "This isn't a Gym battle, so it won't be on camera and it won't be recorded. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Awesome, thanks, you can get back to the countdown now."

The referee nodded and continued.

"One . . . go!"

Green and Toni threw out Ice and Nameless, who were fairly well-practised together. Green was hoping to try a new attack they'd worked out as well- that had basically been his idea, and there were two of them.

And that Water one they'd been working on for a while, too.

And weirdly enough, Red and Blue sent out a Venusaur and a Blastoise respectively. Okay, he knew about the Blastoise for Blue, but Venusaur? Red seemed more like the kinda person who'd have a Charizard or somethi-

Wait.

Venusaur and Blastoise? And he had a Charizard . . . holy shit, wow, that was an entire set. Cool.

Ice looked at his opponents for a few seconds, and then turned to Green and Toni.

 _"I know very well that every time I've asked this question, the answer has always been some variant of 'yes'."_ he began. _"But_ are you insane _? That's the Champion!"_

 _"I know we're strong, but we're not_ that _strong."_ Nameless added, glancing over his shoulder.

"Oh, just do it." Toni told them. "We can try out Loch Wrecker and Sun Dance."

Ice suddenly looked more interested, and to Green's relief it seemed like he was interested in battling now. Good, they could actually try out the new attacks.

"Why are you talking to your pokemon?" Red called. "Get on with the battle, dammit!"

"Have some patience!" Morty told him. "You're the Champ and Blue's second best in the entire two regions, you can't blame them for coming up with a quick strategy to win."

 _A strategy to lose, more like,_ was what Red thought of that.

Green narrowed his eyes. That thought was as clear as if Red had actually said it, and that only made him more determined to beat his ass down.

"Shall we play a game?" Toni grinned.

"For once, that reference is actually completely accurate." Green noted. "Kick their asses!"

 _"With pleasure."_ Nameless agreed. Ice just nodded curtly, with a small grin crawling onto his face.

The Venusaur and Blastoise seemed slightly surprised that they were actually going through with this, but they wouldn't just sit back and let themselves be beaten. After all, they had their Trainer's reputations to uphold.

A couple of 'newbie' Trainers couldn't shatter those reps.

Or could they?

Heheh.

"Saur, start us off with a Vine Whip!" Red ordered.

Saur, huh? Green had met a woman with a Bulbasaur called that once. It had been a powerful little thing. Sturdy, too.

The vines lashed out faster than anyone could react and gripped onto Ice, hauling him into the air.

 _"Hey!"_ the big Feraligatr shouted. _"Put me down, now!"_

 _"Sure, if you insist."_ Saur shrugged, the flower on his back rippling gently with the movement.

And he let Ice go.

"Yeah, that was a historically bad idea." Green muttered to himself, as Ice thumped to the floor painfully.

Blue and Toni hadn't exactly been idle either, and had called out their own attacks- Blue's Blastoise was apparently called Blasty. Creative.

Uh, well, not like he could say much. But still. Oh, whatever.

Nameless ducked under a Hyrdo Pump from Blasty's cannons, and sent back a stream of Razor Leaves with hit the big turtle in the chest and bounced off, not without injuring him. Green wasn't entirely sure, because no way he was using his Psychic powers to cheat in this battle, but he thought maybe the attack did some damage.

Well, if they were using their real teams- Green's and Toni's, that is- they'd probably win with a few hits. But that'd just break their cover, so they had to make do with these two.

Not that they were weak, of course.

Ice bit into the vines snaking towards him with a cold Ice Fang, and snapped them in half. Saur roared in pain and anger (mostly anger) and whipped them back, instead opting to go on the defensive at Red's order.

Huh, weird. Green had expected him to just attack without any regard for the pokemon's health or whatever. Maybe he wasn't as cold-hearted as they thought.

Ice and Nameless were practised enough to not need any directions from Green or Toni, but sometimes they did need some pushes in the right (or different) direction.

"Magical Leaf!" Toni called.

Nameless's leaf glowed a weird purple and black colour as he fired off the attack. It was weird, seeing something that was alive glow with a colour normally associated with death.

"Bubblebeam to block!" Blue quickly called. "Then Dragon Pulse on the Feraligatr!"

Shit.

Well, it wasn't like they were gonna stick to the same opponents.

Red ordered a quick Petal Blizzard, and that attack mixed in with the Dragon Pulse and hit Ice before Green or Ice could think of a counter for it.

"Damn." he muttered.

"Never fought Champs before." Toni replied, looking impressed. "You think we stand a chance in hell?"

"Probably not." Green commented, as Ice got back up and staggered. "But we can at least try. Ice!"

The Water type glanced back.

"Loch Wrecker!"

Ice's reply was to grin properly.

"Loch Wrecker?" Red echoed, sounding confused. "What the hell's that?"

"You think he meant Rock Wrecker?" Blue wondered. "But Feraligatr can't learn that."

Oh, this was gonna _awesome_.

Ice started to charge up the attack, water swirling around him in a complicated pattern.

Saur and Blasty looked confused as well, but they quickly figured out that if they didn't do something, they'd probably get hit with whatever it was. Red and Blue figured it out as well.

"Solarbeam!" Red snapped out. "Don't let them do whatever that is!"

"Blasty, Hydro Pump!" Blue called.

Nameless jumped in front of both attacks, throwing up half a dozen Light Screens which stopped the two attacks in their tracks. The shields stayed up until they'd fizzled out and died, and then Nameless jumped out of the way.

Ice revealed what he'd been charging.

The swirling water turned into a massive vortex, and Ice made a strange gesture- kind of like flicking his wrist, but with a twisted and complicated movement added- and the water convulsed suddenly.

It froze, and then Ice flung both of his arms out and the water, being flung with them, became a pulse of freezing-cold water which swept towards Saur and Blasty.

Loch Wrecker was a good move, in theory. It took some of its concepts from Freeze-Dry, and Surf- both of which Ice had learned in the past few days- and the actual attack Rock Wrecker itself, even though Ice couldn't learn it.

Rock Wrecker was where _Loch_ Wrecker got its name from.

Essentially, Ice produced a load of water, and used Surf to control that water and make it do all of that fancy stuff. The fancy movements were so that Ice could freeze the water enough so that it was like Freeze-Dry but far more powerful, and when it was cold enough- without being frozen entirely- Ice would fling his arms out wide and the water would basically become a pulse of freezing cold water that hurt any pokemon in front of him.

And that was why Nameless had jumped out of the way. Right now, they were working on a way to make the charge time shorter, so Ice could use it in quick succession.

Because it was like Freeze-Dry, the Water attack hurt Blasty a hell of lot more than it normally would have done. It also hurt Saur a lot as well, because Ice attacks (even if this wasn't an Ice typed attack) were pretty damn effective against Grass types.

Green had come up with it after watching a recorded version one of Rena's Contests from in France, because she'd somehow taught Lucifer how to use Freeze-Dry (no one knew how, but it was Rena, she had her own rules) despite him not even being an Ice or Water type.

He'd then used a quick Surf, which had all but left his opponents virtually immobile.

"What in the hell!?" Red cried in shock. "What attack was _that_?"

"Loch Wrecker!" Green explained.

"But what- oh, I see." Blue suddenly nodded in realisation. "'Loch' is another word for lake, which is basically water, so the attack's a Water type version of Rock Wrecker, right?"

"Plus Freeze-Dry, but that's about it, yeah."

Red just blinked speechlessly. Green really hoped the Champion was rethinking his opinion that he was unnatural or whatever it was he usually blathered on about.

"Can I do mine now?" Toni asked Green.

"Don't see why not, we've already done Loch Wrecker." he agreed, shrugging.

 _"Toni?"_ Nameless turned back to her, hearing the conversation. _"Do I get to . . .?"_

"Sun Dance, Nameless!" Toni ordered.

"Sun what now?" Red asked.

Just like with the Magical Leaf, Nameless's leaf started to glow. But this time the glow was a white colour.

"He's using Flash, cover your eyes!" Blue called.

 _Yeah, like that'll help,_ Green thought.

She was half-right about Flash, though.

Still winded from the Loch Wrecker, Saur and Blasty were slow to react to Blue's words. They did manage to close their eyes, but by that point Nameless's Flash- the first part of Sun Dance- was already bright.

Green quickly covered his own eyes, knowing that Toni, Ice and everyone else was already doing the same thing.

For a few seconds, there was no sound except for the slight high-pitched hum of the Flash from Nameless's leaf.

"What's going on?" he heard Red call. Hopefully he wasn't stupid enough to open his eyes, or he'd be flash-blinded.

 _"For the love of Arceus, do something!"_ Blasty snapped. _"We're blind anyway, why aren't you attacking?"_

 _"You want me to attack? Fine, then."_

There was a sound like exploding bricks, and Blasty screeched in pain. The exploding sound came again, and this time it was Saur who cried out.

This continued for about half a minute, the Flash making it impossible to see what Nameless was doing. He took it in turns, the exploding sound being the only warning anyone had of an attack, and the cries of Blasty or Saur less than a second later were the only indication that anyone had of the attacks connecting.

Sun Dance had been a hard move to work out, because it involved using Flash to blind anyone watching. They couldn't exactly _aim_ Flash, which was why it was so difficult to figure out what Nameless could do during the blindness.

In the end, Green had to use his Psychic abilities to 'see' what was going on, and eventually they came up with an idea.

Flash typically relied on blinding the opponent temporarily, but it didn't always work because said opponent would close their eyes and therefore be immune to the effects. So they decided to use that to their advantage and not shut off Flash, even if the opponent hadn't managed to close their eyes in time.

During that time, Nameless just used whatever attack he wanted to. He could attack from anywhere and anytime he felt like, because only he could see through the brightness- for some reason, the user of Flash was never affected by the brightness. No one knew why, but Green and Toni were really thankful for it right now.

It sounded like Nameless was using a barrage of Seed Bombs, which was where the exploding sound came from.

To use Seed Bomb, Nameless bit off one of the seeds around his neck and hurled it at whoever he was fighting, like a grenade. The seeds actually grew back fairly quickly, so he could bite out another one when the previous one detonated.

Rena had actually helped him to learn that move, since Balthazar used it in virtually the same way- except he used the ball-things on the tip of his tail, since he didn't have a seed-collar like Nameless did.

They hadn't exactly known what to call the attack, but 'Sun' was definitely a part of it, and Toni refused to call it anything without that word in it. They came up with the 'Dance' part after Nameless tried a Petal Dance, and the attack was then referred to as 'Sun Dance' until they figured something else out.

And as usual, even if it made more sense to be called something else, the name stuck. So anyone who could learn Flash on the team- Tick, Fearless, Sightless and Sparkless- were then taught how to make it last for longer, so they could use Sun Dance as well.

Green and Toni also taught themselves how to do it.

It was pretty fun to use, actually. Everyone else was either blind or trying to stop themselves from getting blinded, and the user could just see an illuminated version of the scene before them.

Sure, it was a harsh and unnatural lighting, but at least whoever was using it didn't get blinded as well.

Eventually the light died down, but it was several moments before anyone- even those who hadn't been attacked by the Seed Bombs- could actually see properly.

"Okay, wow." Blue commented, blinking away her flash-blindness. "That was really bright and really annoying. Where do you even get these ideas, kid?"

"We're awesome!" Toni answered.

"That's not an answer, why do you keep saying it like it's an answer!?" Red snapped, looking like he was on his last thread of patience.

They then noticed their pokemon just about struggling to get up, and exchanged a glance that Green understood fairly well.

They weren't gonna lose, not to him and Toni.

 _"Okay, I was being nice before, but this is just stupid."_ Saur muttered, shaking his large head slowly. _"I'm gonna kick your asses."_

 _"Don't come crying to us when we win."_ Ice retorted.

"Flash Cannon!" Blue told Blasty.

Huh, so Blastoise _did_ use their cannons for every special attack. Good to know.

Nameless deflected that with a hasty Light Screen, and then had to jump back when Saur lashed out with his vines. Nameless used his own to retaliate and within seconds the two Grass types were locked in some sort of vine duel.

"Ice, help him out!" Green called.

 _"I'm not an idiot, you know!"_ his 'starter' retorted.

Ice jumped into the duel, mindful of the vines slapping back and forth, and grabbed the ones he thought belonged to Saur.

 _"Wrong one!"_ Nameless informed him.

Ice dropped one of the vines and grabbed another one, and then bit into them with Ice Fang.

It was a good thing the vines grew back quickly, Green thought with a wince.

Blasty jumped into the fight with an Ice Punch, which didn't really do much to Ice but it did drive him back a few steps.

He countered with a Mega Punch, which did a bit more damage to Blasty than the Ice Punch did to him. Blasty hit him with a Mega Kick, and then Saur made himself known again by blasting a Petal Blizzard at Ice to throw him back.

Nameless dashed over to Ice and stood in front of him, his leaf lighting up- not with a Flash, but this time ready to use either Reflect or Light Screen (or both) if either pokemon came nearby.

 _"What now?"_ he called to Green and Toni. _"We're kind of at a stalemate!"_

 _"Speak for yourself."_ Ice coughed. _"I think I ate some of the ground . . . pleh . . ."_

"Okay, ew." Green cringed.

Their opponents didn't give them any chance to think, and Blasty fired off an Ice Beam which had Nameless instinctively jumping out of the way- only to suddenly remember who was behind him.

 _"Sorry!"_ he called to Ice, whose arm was slightly frosty.

Ice gave him a look that wasn't exactly out of place considering his arm.

And then Saur hit him with a Leaf Storm and he was knocked out of the battle.

"Feraligatr is down and unable to battle! Please return him so he won't get hit." the referee announced.

Green returned him with a muttered apology, and turned to Toni.

"You think you can manage this?" he asked her, nodding to the impossible odds. "I mean, Nameless is good, but . . ."

"Not that good." Toni finished. "I'll keep him in though, may as well finish the fight. Nameless, Leaf Storm back at them!"

Nameless nodded and threw his head, twisting his leaf around crazily. It whipped up a storm of leaves which shot off towards Saur and Blasty, and only really did damage to Blasty.

It just irritated Saur.

"Sludge Bomb!" Red shouted.

Toni blinked and looked like she wanted to make some sort of reference, to what Green didn't even know (probably _Supernatural_ or _Pokemon Underground_ ), but he elbowed her and she didn't say anything.

Well, she did. It just wasn't a reference.

Just as Saur spat out the Sludge Bomb, she yelled. "Light Screen- then Bounce!"

"Bayleef can't learn Bounce!" Red snapped. "What is it with you two and-"

The Sludge Bomb hit the Light Screen and the shield suddenly shifted, and flung the Poison attack at Blasty, who was too surprised to react in time.

" . . . Oh." Red said.

"Haha suck it!" Toni shouted joyfully. "Not all attacks are what they actually are!"

That statement made no sense, but with Toni nothing made sense, so no one commented.

Unfortunately, using the Shield Bounce- which was the attack's full name, just saying Bounce mislead people amazingly well- had left Nameless more tired than he'd been before.

Well, not like he hadn't been tired from trying to beat two League-winning pokemon (or one League-winning pokemon and the runner-up), but the Shield Bounce had tired him out even more.

He huffed out a breath, and seemed to realise something. He started glowing.

"He's doing that Sun thing again!" Red guessed. "Hit him before he-"

"No, wait!" Green snapped out. "He's not using Flash!"

"He's . . . he's right." Blue said, somewhat in awe. "He's evolving."

Green could just about make out a grin from Nameless, and then the light engulfed him completely and started growing.

Blasty and Saur exchanged a glance and stepped back, allowing Nameless to evolve in peace. No pokemon would attack another during its evolution, that was just rude and really offending. And also basically illegal.

No one was close enough to feel the heat, but Green knew it was there- and it gradually died down with the light, leaving a newly evolved Meganium standing proudly.

He was still tired, but the evolution had given him a new energy.

"Fuck yeah Nameless!" Toni shouted.

Nameless looked at her and grinned, shaking out his new petal-collar.

 _"I think I have a new attack."_ he announced.

Then he used Frenzy Plant.

 **oooo**

Toni sulked.

"We didn't do that badly, Toni." Green told her.

She still sulked.

"Oh, come on, stop being like that."

She continued to sulk.

"Who cares if we lost?"

Toni just sulked even more.

Green rolled his eyes and turned away, looking at their teams- who were all gathered around Nameless and were congratulating him on his evolution.

There were still a few of them who had yet to be fully evolved- Twin, Tick, Ziva, Amethyst, Gemless and Lifeless- but none of them seemed bitter that he'd managed it before them. Gemless especially, since it normally took Dratinis a long time to become Dragonites.

Speaking of Gemless, he hadn't exactly . . . connected with anyone since becoming part of the team. He'd gotten a little bit more comfortable with them since the Bug Catching Contest, but he was still awkward around them. It was almost like he didn't actually _want_ to connect.

Green was curious as to why, but he didn't intrude on Gemless's thoughts. Nor did he share his worries with the rest of the team or even Toni, because that'd just make things worse- or he thought they might, he wasn't gonna take the chance.

Until Gemless came forward with whatever was bothering him, there wasn't a whole lot anyone could do, nevermind Green.

Morty came into the room with hot chocolate- because tea would just offend Toni- and set the tray down on the table in front of them. Red and Blue followed, Red looking incredibly smug.

"Guess you're not all that good." he snarked, sitting down opposite them. "But then again, I _am_ the Champion- and you two are just starting Trainers."

"Fuck you!" Toni burst out. "If we had our-"

"Phoebe shut up." Green hissed, clamping a hand over her mouth quickly.

"You do realise it wasn't just you who won the battle?" Blue asked drily. "I was there too, you smug Arbok."

"It was still mostly me, though. I'm the Champ."

"And how many times have I kicked your ass in pratise battles since the League, huh?"

Red glared at her, and Blue smirked. The boy huffed and turned back to Green and Toni.

"Still won, though. This just proves that newbies like you two shouldn't challenge a League winner." he said, as if the previous few seconds hadn't even taken place.

Toni hissed at him.

Red looked startled, and he glanced at Green as if to say 'did she actually just _hiss_ at me?'.

Morty, on the other hand, merely nodded mildly.

"I wasn't aware that I was related to a bad-tempered Persian, but there we go." he said agreeably.

"Persian are cool." Toni perked up.

"That they are. They're annoying when someone brings one into the Gym, though." Morty sighed. "Last person who came in here with a Persian just solo'd my entire Gym. It sucked."

"Did it use Crunch?" Green wondered.

"I wish it had- it just kept spamming Pay Day and dodging Curses until my pokemon knocked themselves out trying to hit it." Morty muttered something unprintable about trolling Trainers.

Oops.

(No, he was not gonna change his trolling ways just because Morty found one dude with a Persian annoying- it was far too much fun.)

"Your entire family is weird." Blue observed.

"Well, no one's denying it." Toni pointed out happily.

"I've actually been wondering." Red began.

"With what?" Green snarked.

"Shut up. I've been wondering about your sister, Rena."

"Oh no, he's gonna confess!" Toni wailed.

"Red may be considering homosexuality, we can't exactly rule that out just yet." Morty told her.

"Ho Yay!" Toni cheered.

" _Don't._ " Green practically spat.

Toni leaned away from him, much like he'd done when she'd screamed in his ears, and gave him a flat look.

"Don't tell me you ain't though of it." she said pointedly. "You and Red, sitting under a tree, with the moon shining and stars-"

"One more word, Toni, I dare you."

"-you're kissing happily and then you're mpreg BYE!"

Toni ran out of the room, laughing madly.

"Why am I the one who's mpreg!?" Green shouted after her, not even bothering to get up.

"I'll go and get her." Morty chuckled. He left the room, glancing around for a second before heading off in some random direction. Probably a shortcut or something.

The pokemon in the room hadn't really taken much notice, and it took Green a few seconds to realise that Red and Blue weren't actually saying anything.

He looked at them and they looked back, confused.

Then he realised what he'd said.

"Why did you just call her Toni?" Red asked, frowning. "Her name's Phoebe."

"She loves the Avengers." Green explained as calmly as possible, which wasn't easy when he'd just given half the secret away. "And her favourite character's Tony Stark."

"So you just call her Toni because of that." Blue still seemed suspicious.

"Yes, now what was that about my sister? My other sister?" Green reminded them.

"Oh, right." Red nodded. Green hoped he'd already forgotten, because it looked like Blue would pester him if she ever got the chance to. "Your entire family is weird, and from what I've seen so far, all of you appear to be really powerful."

 _You have no idea,_ Green thought.

"Yeah, so?" he said instead.

"How?" Red asked him. "I mean, I get Morty- he's a Gym Leader- but Rena? I've never even heard of her, and yet she has an Aggron and an Altaria, and I'm pretty sure I heard her mention something about Luci? No idea what pokemon that is, but how'd she manage to get such powerful pokemon?"

"She's a damn good Trainer." Green told him, which was at least true.

But what surprised him about this was that Red was actually acknowledging the fact that Rena had potentially powerful pokemon (for him, it was potentially, for Green? Definitly powerful).

"Okay fine, I get that. Then we've got you two." Red narrowed his eyes. "You've been Trainers for, what, over a month now? And you're already powerful enough to be able to take me and Blue on. Not that you could ever actually beat us, but you still gave us a run for our money. Oh, and it takes a real man to admit that kind of thing- don't forget this."

"I get the impression that you don't admit this often." Green said.

"No, I don't." Red agreed.

"Then you're not very manly, are you?"

Blue snorted and Red glared at him.

"Hey, I call it as I see it, don't hate on me because you're a homophobic shit." Green told him.

"Whatever. Even I couldn't get my pokemon up to this point in such a short time." Red went on. "So what's up with that? Do you have some sort of secret training technique that makes your pokemon a hell of a lot more powerful than normal?"

Yeah, it was called not being a piece of shit.

Also being a Deviant. That helped too.

Not like Green was gonna say that.

"Not to mention, we haven't seen any Gym battles from either of you." Blue added, letting go of the slip Green had made- for now. "Red asked Professor Oak-"

Green froze slightly, but neither of the humans seemed to notice.

"-to look through the battle records from Johto, but you and your sister haven't turned up at all. As far as we know, you don't even have a single Gym Badge." she said. "For once I agree with Red. What is this?"

"We're just really good Trainers, I guess?" Green shrugged. "Also, we kinda get into trouble on a regular basis. Can't exactly blame us for reacting, can you?"

"What, so that thing in Azalea wasn't weird at all?" Red frowned.

"It was a _bit_ weird." Green told him. "I've never seen a murder ball up until that point."

That was a complete lie, but they didn't need to know that.

"Yet you seemed to know what it did." Blue pressed.

"I watch _NCIS_ and stuff, I'm familiar with the concept. Why are you interrogating me?" Green demanded, twisting the conversation.

Red and Blue looked surprised. Had they even realised they were pretty much demanding answers from him?

"We . . . we just want to know, that's all." Blue told him, exchanging a look with Red. "And while we're on the subject of Azalea-"

Oh, for fuck's sake.

"-what happened?" Blue asked him, not reacting to his exasperated sigh. "How did you two even get out of the room we were being held in? Red and I got out because there was a grunt and we demanded that he take us to Merek, but as far as we knew, you two were still in that room in the back."

"Yeah." Red agreed suspiciously. "Did you find some secret way out?"

"A window." Green shrugged, hoping that they wouldn't point out that there hadn't been a window in the room. Otherwise he'd have to change their memories or something. "And before you say anything, there wasn't much point in getting you two. It was too small for anyone but me and Phoebe."

Actually, what had happened was that Green had basically just Teleported himself, Toni and Tick (in the murder ball) to the entrance to Azalea town. They'd then started attacking the grunts, any who were within sight or otherwise, and had made their way to the Gym from there.

Were Red and Blue gonna mention the mind-melted grunts that Green had taken out? Not to mention the ones who had been lightning-burned by Toni's Electric attacks.

"And you just happened to know where to go." Blue said.

"We beat up a few grunts." Green shrugged. "The pokemon were kind of . . . eager."

They hadn't even thought of using their pokemon.

Ice glanced over, and gave Green a flat look that pretty much screamed 'you should stop lying to them'. Green sent him an image of what might happen if he did that, and Ice, after a couple seconds of shocked silence, went back to the pokemon conversation.

Green was spared from having to answer anything else when Toni and Morty wandered back in.

Thank Mew for that, he was starting to panic. This was the exact reason why he and Toni were shit at undercover missions- sooner or later, Psychic powers or no, one of them would give and everything would be ruined.

Red and Blue already suspected them of something, and a quick look into their minds revealed that they'd witnessed him summoning Tick's egg from his hammer space. That was a shocking revelation all on its own, but Green managed to keep his shock to a minimum.

You know. In case either of them noticed.

He just hoped they wouldn't even find out about any of this.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: I'm ending this early simply because I can't think of anything that I can write for the rest of the chapter.

Green: You're just being lazy.

Renny: That too, I guess. So in this chapter we've got a battle in which Nameless awesomely evolves, but still doesn't gain Green and Toni a win. And then we have an interrogation from Red and Blue to Green, who is feeling the heat already!

Green: And that's just a plot point, and also foreshadowing.

Renny: A good story is nothing without foreshadowing. Unless everything just happens randomly, in which case that is most likely one of the exceptions. Anyway, hope you liked the battle! Next chapter we'll be out of Ecruteak city and away from Red and Blue, who I'm trying to not make main-main characters of this fic like I accidently did with _Redemption_.

Green: Main-main?

Renny: Yeah, as opposed to side-main characters. Like, they're main characters but they're on the sidelines. A main-main character would basically be Green and Toni. Their teams- or some of them- are side-main characters.

Green: That . . . kind of makes sense, actually.

Renny: No need to sound so shocked. Incidently, this fic now has a theme song!

 **Viva la Deviants theme song-** _ **Just Like Fire**_ **(Pink)**

Green: I would have expected it to be _Viva la Vida_ , considering the title.

Renny: But _Just Like Fire_ fits it perfectly! Ah, whatever. If you can't appreciate the awesomeness the song brings to this fic, that's your own problem.

Green: What.

Renny: Read and review!


	14. Chapter 14- Special Episode Pranks

Renny: Okay, so, since I need to space out my story, I'm bringing back the Special Episodes! Only they're completely different.

Green: You said some bullshit about pranks?

Renny: That's right! Basically, I show people pranks that Toni and Green have done. I'll be starting the SEP (Special Episode Pranks) off with a few of my own, and then the readers (if anyone can be so arsed) can review and tell me pranks that they want Toni and Green to do for next time. Once I've got about five or six from reviewers, I'll post another SEP chapter.

Green: This feels kind of like you're trying to make fillers.

Renny: I need to space out the evolutions somehow! The plan for the next evolution would have been in this chapter if I hadn't come up with this SEP chapter idea! Stop fucking judging me.

Green: Fine, whatever.

Renny: Also, I'll be breaking the fourth wall in a short intro with each SEP chapter. That's for anyone who doesn't bother reading this, which is what I think a lot of people never do. Disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

Toni wandered into the white room, and glared around in distaste.

"Stop that." Green told her.

"It's _white_." she snapped back. "Who has a white room?"

Well excuse me.

"You're excused." Toni replied grumpily. She sat down next to Green on the sofa, and crossed her arms in a huff.

Green sighed, rolled his eyes.

"So, today we're not giving anyone an actual plot-driven chapter." he began, glancing briefly at a script. "Renny says we're doing pranks- basically, Special Episode Pranks. Toni and I- and occasionally some of our friends- do five or six pranks in each of these SEPs."

Toni snatched the script off him and pulled a face.

"Why do we need to read from this?" she demanded, waving it around.

Because that's what I fucking want you to say, smartass.

"Well I don't wanna!" Toni snapped. "It's boring as balls!"

"Balls aren't boring." Green pointed out, taking the script back. "If it makes you feel better, we'll do this without it- that okay?"

Sure, do whatever you want.

"Since this is basically unannounced," Green went on explaining, discarding the script. "The author has made some pranks of her own- about five, maybe six if she comes up with another one at the end. The basic idea here is to give this story some gaps between evolutions, since they're getting bunched up."

"Also, something to do with 'the plot's moving a bit fast'." Toni snorted. "I don't see how that's a bad thing, ain't you got that se-"

NO SPOILERS.

Toni fell off the sofa, shocked. Green just sighed and carried on.

"After this one, the author hopes- and pretty much prays and begs- that the readers will send in some pranks that they want to see me and Toni doing." Green said. "You can say up to three a review, and they don't have to always be on a SEP chapter. You can just as easily review and stick in some prank ideas for a normal chapter, just don't make the review solely about the pranks otherwise she won't know what the hell you're on about."

And that's not my fault, I hardly get any reviews despite the fact that several people are reading this.

"This is kind of a cheap trick to make people review more, ain't it?" Toni muttered, clampering back onto the sofa.

I'm not denying it. But I'm also doing this because I want people to come forward and feel like they have some influence on something in the story- because they sure as hell ain't gonna get any influence over the actual plot.

"What kind of author would you be if you did that?" Green asked, deadpan. "You tried it in _Redemption_ , and everyone got pissed at you because you didn't make Eon an Umbreon, even though Flareon's a hell of a lot more useful to you."

Damn straight it is.

"Besides, Sightless is an Umbreon. Green don't need one." Toni said.

"Anyway, to recap." Green said. "This SEP chapter will be the author's five/six pranks, and any others will hopefully be made up of pranks sent in by reviewers- that'd be you lot reading this, hopefully. Three pranks a review, and you don't have to just put pranks in SEP reviews, you can put them in the actual story reviews, just don't make those entirely about the pranks. Understand? I hope you do, because I'm not explaining this again."

If anyone has any questions, just ask! I'd be happy to explain, just so long as the question isn't a stupid one.

"How do you even know if it's a stupid question?" Toni asked curiously.

I decide if it's dumb.

"I feel like this is somewhat of a dictatorship." Green commented.

Shut up, you get to prank people.

"Fair play. Let's get pranking!" Toni cried.

(Oh, and one other thing- these pranks won't be in chronological order, so you could get a prank set in _Viva la Deviants_ or before it, but never after it because that'd give away major spoilers. Bye!)

 **oooo**

 **-Ice bucket prank (before chapter 4)-**

 _"This is a very bad idea."_ Ice muttered, watching Toni.

Nameless just sighed, shaking his head slightly.

 _"Try telling that to her."_ the Chikorita pointed out.

 _"It should be kinda cool."_ Faceless commented, watching her new Trainer intently. _"Besides, didn't Ice give Toni the ice she needed?"_

The small group of pokemon stared at the Totodile, who hardly reacted beyond a small twitch.

 _"You're bad you know that and also a damn hypocrite you go on about Toni doing crap like this and yet you go ahead and-"_

 _"Alright, we get it, shut up."_ Ice snapped at Sparkless.

Sparkless just giggled at him and continued. Everyone ignored him in favour of watching Toni again.

 _"Where did the girl even get that . . . bucket-thing from?"_ Twin asked, sounding slightly reluctant to speak up. Clearly she still didn't like any of them.

Now it was her turn to be stared at, and then the pokemon exchanged confused looks.

 _"You know what?"_ Hopeless said. _"I have no clue. At all."_

Toni chucked the bucket- filled with ice-cold water and ice cubes- over Green. He 'woke up' half a second before it hit him, and with a sadistic grin, used Psychic to chuck it all back at Toni.

"SONUVABITCH!" Toni screamed.

 _"Told you."_ Ice said.

 **oooo**

 **-Screaming prank (before** _ **Viva la Deviants**_ **)-**

"Shhh." Green hissed, though he was close to giggling loudly too.

"I-I can't s-stop-" Toni snickered. "This is gonna be awesome!"

"Keep it down, he's coming!" Green snapped, shoving her to shut her up.

A man walked around the corner, humming a gentle tune to himself.

"Okay, three-" Green whispered.

"Two-" Toni said.

"One!"

They both jumped out from their hiding place- some boxes that no one cared about- and started screaming wildly.

Doran screeched in reply and ran off like a Glameow when it was startled.

Toni instantly broke down laughing, not even able to hold herself up, and Green found himself having to prop up against the wall.

"That was fucking awesome!" Toni howled. "We need to do it again!"

"Hell yeah we do!" Green replied.

Three days later- because it was always a good idea to wait between pranks like these- the two were hiding in a different place.

"This is uncomfortable." Toni muttered. "I don't like hiding behind these things."

Green poked one of the spare punching bags and shrugged.

"Not like we've got much choice." he pointed out calmly. "Anywhere else would give us away- and the Ghost Phase thing doesn't work on other Deviants, you know it doesn't."

"If we were scaring humans-"

"-they'd report us and Neron would give us a _Talk_." Green snapped.

Toni shuddered.

"Never again." she whined quietly. "Never. Again."

They heard the dojo door open, and quickly got into position. Toni stayed where she was, and Green quietly Teleported behind the man who'd just walked in.

Aaron was always the first and last to leave the dojo, because he was forever trying to figure out how to beat Ghost types with Foresight. It'd never work, you couldn't hit a Ghost type with Normal or Fighting attacks without that move (or Odor Sleuth, or the ability Scrappy).

"Hi Aaron." Green said brightly, and the Fighting type bellowed in shock and jumped about ten feet into the air.

He'd just landed when Toni jumped out of her hiding spot, sparking like hell, and screaming something about demons and hell and the apocalypse.

Aaron ran out of the room in terror and was probably vowing to use a different dojo from now on.

They did the scare prank several more times, before finally deciding to try it on the ultimate subject- Adrik. It was probably a bad idea, but they decided to try it anyway, because why not?

Adrik rounded the corner and Green Teleported himself and Toni right in front of him, and they screeched loudly.

Several moments passed.

Adrik stared at them flatly, turned and walked in the other direction.

Toni slumped.

"Damn." Green sighed. "It really is impossible to scare him."

"You think he saw us coming? Like, he used an Ice Mirror or something?" Toni wondered sadly.

"I didn't see one, but knowing him, yeah. He did."

They kept doing scare pranks but kept away from Adrik (and Kiara) in case they pissed him off or something.

 **oooo**

 **-Feathers down shirts (during chapter 9)-**

For the fifth time that hour, some random guest- this time a bird-woman hyrbid- shrieked when she felt a feather suddenly tickle her back.

Green appeared next to Toni for a reload, and then vanished again.

 _"This will get people to hate you."_ Hoopa pointed out.

Toni just shrugged. "I'm not seeing the problem, we're only here for a couple more days and then boom we're gone."

 _"Nevertheless."_

Three more people- or creatures, whatever- shrieked or suddenly giggled, and then when they tried to see who had shoved feathers down their shirts, they saw no one.

If any of them ever looked over at Toni and Green's table, they wouldn't see the small bag filled with feathers, and Green would be sitting there innocently, chewing on a cheese sandwich. Toni would be pretending to sleep, which she did very convincingly.

Tonio hardly even reacted when another set of guests made their own varying reactions to the feather pranks, not even betraying Green or Toni with a twitch of his eyes, even though he could clearly see the two of them.

Maybe he was just was amused as they were.

Hoopa just didn't care, she was happy to get some time away from the Source room.

 **oooo**

 **-Water buckets on doors (before** _ **Viva la Deviants**_ **)-**

Green had better balance than Toni did, so he was the one who placed the buckets above doors. The fact that he could levitate himself with Psychic also helped, too.

"Hurry up, she's coming!" Toni exclaimed, looking at her DataGear.

"Alright, alright, shut up." Green hissed back, and then quickly balanced the bucket on the top of the door and Teleported himself and Toni to the far corner of the room.

They waited for half a minute, and then Ashley opened the door- only to step back and shriek when a bucket filled with water fell onto her head.

"HAH!" Green shouted. "I fucking told you!"

"You didn't listen, you totally should have listened!" Toni sang.

Ashley pulled the bucket off her head, not bothered about getting wet because she was half Water, and gave them both a flat look.

"Yes, you did." the Scotswoman said. "And now I wish that I had listened to you . . ."

"You're a Water type, I don't see the problem." Toni pointed out.

"These clothes aren't Mew-dammed water-proof!" Ashley cried, somewhat dismayed. "It'll take me weeks to get this disgusting wetness out of them, and even then I'll be feeling it for the rest of my miserable life!"

The two kids stared at her.

"I'm shitting with you, get a grip." Ashley said, letting out a bark of laughter.

"Thank fuck for that." Toni sighed, as the woman wandered out.

"Maybe next time we do the bucket thing to someone who isn't a Water type." Green suggested.

"How about Neron?" Toni said.

Green grinned at her. "Toni, that breaks any rules we should probably be following. Let's go for it."

They ended up in detention for a month, though no one was sure how because the city wasn't a damn school and, as far as anyone knew, Neron wasn't (and had never been) a teacher.

 **oooo**

 **-Ghost scare (after chapter 13)-**

 _"This isn't a very good idea."_ Lifeless said.

"So?" Toni wondered.

 _"What's he on about it's a great idea I don't see the problem!"_ Sparkless huffed.

"He means because we're gonna go around doing the Ghost Phase thing on people who hopefully aren't Deviants or psychics." Green explained.

 _"Still not seeing the problem this is an awesome plan it's gonna be GREAT."_

 _"And that's your problem."_ Toni's Haunter sighed.

"Ah, lighten up, this'll be hilarious." Toni snickered. "People in Ecruteak celebrate death anyway, what's a couple of 'human' ghosts gonna do to them?"

"Possibly give one or two a heart attack." Green mused. "But I suppose it could be a good chance to see if Heal Pulse works on that . . ."

Lifeless stared at him.

 _"Now I'm very worried."_ was all he said.

He didn't get a chance to say much else, because a woman wandered by their hiding place- behind some statue that looked like Ho-Oh outside of an old shop- and they had to focus.

Green and Toni turned on their Ghost Phase ability, and then all four of them- two Deviants and the two pokemon- crept out.

They followed the woman for a few feet, and then Toni darted forward to blow on the back of her neck. The woman tensed, but didn't react beyond that.

"Damn." Toni sighed.

"Sparkless, don't hurt her." Green warned.

 _"What do you take me for you-"_

"I take you for a violent Rotom, now scare her."

"Thought I was his partner, not you." Toni smirked.

Sparkless zipped off invisibly, and started to circle the woman rapidly. No doubt she could feel the wind made by his speedy circling, but she still didn't react.

The Rotom eventually gave up and came back, looking grumpy.

"You'll get it next time." Toni promised him.

"Lifeless?" Green turned to their reluctant tag-along.

 _"If I must."_ he sighed, and then vanished in a haze of purple.

It was always weird how the Gastly line could do that, even though they couldn't learn Teleport. At least it was useful.

He appeared again, behind the woman, and stuck out his tongue.

The woman shrieked a little bit when the tongue swiped gently up her back, and she spun around to see nothing.

She turned around again, cautiously, and was suddenly face-to-face with a grinning Haunter who pulled a face that belonged in some weird superhuman TV show.

The woman screamed, but then she composed herself and started shooing Lifeless away.

"Well, at least you got a better reaction than Toni and Sparkless." Green said.

 _"There is that, yes."_ Lifeless murmured.

"Your turn now!" Toni said brightly. "Though I doubt you'll get a better reaction . . ."

"I hope I do, I've got something cool planned."

Green Teleported away before anyone could ask what his plan was, and appeared a few feet in front of the woman. He waited until she was three feet away, and then turned off the Ghost Phase- and altered his image with his Psychic power (and a bit of his Ghost).

What the woman was seeing was basically a zombie version of Green, with a torn-up hole for one eye, several gashes including a large one on his stomach which made his guts spill out, and a shattered bone that jutted out like a thorn in one of his arms.

The woman screeched loudly and ran off in terror.

Green switched off his altered image, turning back on Ghost Phase, and watched her run off curiously. He Teleported back to Toni, Sparkless and Lifeless.

 _"I think you overdid it Green oh my Mew you bloody overdid it."_ Sparkless said in awe.

"That," Toni told him. "Was fucking awesome."

 _"There are no words."_ Lifeless commented. _"None at all."_

"It worked, didn't it? Wanna go scare some more people?" Green asked.

"Sure!"

 _"I'm in I'm always in this is gonna be awesome!"_

 _"I'll only get dragged with you, so I may as well come."_

 **oooo**

"And that's it for this SEP!" Toni exclaimed. "Like Green said before, review with three pranks, you don't need to keep it to . . . uh . . . what exactly did you say?"

"I already said I'm not saying it again." Green muttered.

Oh for the love of- fine, I'll quote him.

 _"Anyway, to recap." Green said. "This SEP chapter will be the author's five/six pranks, and any others will hopefully be made up of pranks sent in by reviewers- that'd be you lot reading this, hopefully. Three pranks a review, and you don't have to just put pranks in SEP reviews, you can put them in the actual story reviews, just don't make those entirely about the pranks. Understand? I hope you do, because I'm not explaining this again."_

"I'd say it's weird to hear my own voice from nowhere, but that'd be hypocritical." Green said.

Yes, yes it would.

Bye people! Hope you enjoyed the Special Episode Pranks chapter!

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: The fourth wall bits were to basically force people to pay attention.

Green: Of course they were.

Renny: Well, they've already said all I need to, so I'll just write off here. Read and review, and for once you lot actually have a reason to do so!


	15. Chapter 15- Mind Games Part 1

Renny: Heeeey here's the fourteenth . . . fifteenth . . . uh.

Green: It's the fifteenth.

Renny: Right, awesome. Fifteenth chapter! And thanks to all those who reviewed, you're all awesome! Eeee I'm finally getting more than one person to review at a time!

Green: *sighs* She also wants to thank those of you who gave her some prank ideas. There currently aren't enough for a second SEP chapter, so we'll have to wait for a bit for that, or until we need another filler.

Renny: And possibly mood whiplash. Disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

Gem city was a small industrial place between Ecruteak and Olivine. Unlike how most people would imagine an industrial city, Gem was actually quite a clean place.

The locals took pride in the fact that they used only clean energy to mine the stones that had given them their city name. Pokemon were the most common use, of course, but what little machines there were used clean energy- or, occasionally, the electricity from an Electric pokemon.

Gem city wasn't exactly on the main map, per say. It was more out of the way, which was another thing locals prided themselves on, because it meant they could work in peace and any traders they did business with didn't need to worry about being robbed blind in the middle of the city.

Toni wasn't particularly interested in any of this, but Green kind of was.

The kind of gems that Gem mined were mainly the standard ones- like diamonds or even evolutionary Stones, occasionally.

Green thought that maybe if they'd gone to Gem city for Eon's Fire Stone, it would have been less hassle. But then again, the Flareon had made that speech about wanting his Stone to mean something.

It did, kind of. But still, less hassle.

He was also sure that Bree could have gone here too, but Kate had said several times that her Trainer was crazy, and she hadn't exactly listened when Green said you could just buy one from somewhere.

Anyway.

The Gem mental hospital was tucked away at the back of the city, not being the focus of the city's prowess. Well, no city or town would pride itself in keeping a bunch of mental cases locked up.

And that mental hospital was exactly where he and Toni had to go.

"How the fuck do we get in?" Toni demanded.

 _"I suggest we break in get this guy out and then tell him all about his powers and send him to Rena or Ethan or something!"_ Sparkless said.

"Yeah, no." Green told him. "We need a better way than breaking in."

 _"We can't do what we did with Sammy."_ Hopeless pointed out. _"There's no contest thing, for one, and also it's a mental hospital."_

 _"Why don't you just do what you did with that bouncer in Goldenrod?"_ Ice asked.

"Hey, that might work!" Toni exclaimed excitedly. "We could pretend to be doctors or something, and then take this dude out and-"

"No, I have a better idea." Green said, turning to her. "I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

" . . . Why?"

"Because it's _Supernatural_."

A grin spread on Toni's face.

It took a few minutes, but they eventually managed to slip past the guards- who were lazy anyway- and got into the hospital.

Green walked up to the first doctor they could find in the reception. Their pokemon- all besides Tick and Sparkless, who had to stay somewhere outside because they were supposed to be incognito- were all in their pokeballs.

"Hi there." Green greeted brightly.

"Uh . . . hello? Can I help you?" the doctor asked.

"We're looking for, uh . . ." Toni blinked and got out her DataGear, and pretended to look at the screen like something was actually there. "Someone called Flynn Auberon."

"Is he your uncle or something?" the doctor said, but he already looked doubtful.

Good, it was working.

"No, actually, we're here cus he's a non-human species that're called Deviants." Green explained. "We have no idea what type he is, so we'll have to have a look- more specifically, I'll have to have a look because I'm a half-Psychic Deviant."

"And I'm half-Electric!" Toni exclaimed.

Green nodded. "And we're also both Ghosts, too." he went on. "We're gonna take this Flynn guy down to this underground city in England where every single Deviant lives, or most of them, so we can train him to not blow stuff up with whatever powers he has."

By now, the doctor was thinking of how to get the two of them sedated without causing a panic among the other patients.

"Oh, of course." the doctor said as if he wasn't thinking that at all. "And what're your names, then?"

"Jade Ash, and this is my best friend- also fake twin sister, we're on an undercover mission- she's called Tori Alkali." Green told him. "Why?"

"Just wondering." the doctor reassured him.

He made a few calls, all of which Green just listened to and pretended that he didn't understand the codes the doctors used, and then started to lead them down the corridors of the mental hospital.

"How did you know Flynn was here, then?" the doctor asked.

Trying to stall.

"We have this list, see?" Toni said, holding up the blank-screened DataGear. "It tells us where undiscovered Deviants are!"

"Of course, of course. And you think Flynn Auberon is a Deviant?"

"Wouldn't be here if he wasn't." Green shrugged. "The Psychics kind of combed the region and we're looking for the ones they found. We already found three or four- Flynn'll be the next one."

And now he was thinking about how bad their cases would be. He was also wondering whether or not it was a good idea to seperate the two of them, since they shared the same delusion and would likely turn violent if they were seperated.

Green had already told Toni that they'd have a better chance at finding Flynn if they were split up, so that wasn't an issue. But just in case, they'd both kick off if anyone tried to seperate them- just not by actually turning around and using their powers, because that'd just blow the entire thing.

The pokemon, namely Ice, hadn't exactly been thrilled with this plan since it blew any incognito shit they were hoping to keep.

But since the world wasn't aware of Deviants, and Green and Toni were basically nuts anyway, telling the truth to make them sound like complete lunatics would actually help them get in.

And besides, Green couldn't change how he and Toni looked to other people. Well, he could, but there was a limit on how many people he could do it to and how long he could keep it up for.

Some other doctors turned up after a couple of minutes, and Toni and Green- according to the plan- looked confused.

"Why're they here?" Toni asked the doctor who'd taken them down here.

"They're my friends." the doctor explained.

"You say you're after Flynn, yes?" one of the older doctors checked.

"Yep." Green replied.

"Alright then. Tori, if you could come with us . . ."

The doctors kind of split off so that there were two to each of them, and Green looked at all four of them in turn.

"Why're you taking her away?" he asked innocently. "It's better if we both talk to Flynn."

"I understand that, but I thought maybe your friend could talk to him while we take you to the superintendant." the doctor explained. "Just so you can explain more about these Deviants."

"But- we're supposed to stay together!" Green exclaimed, while Toni started insulting the two trying to herd her off in the other direction. "Our cover's meant to be- we can't trick people into thinking we're twins if we split up!"

"We already know your covers, so there's not much point in-"

"You don't believe us, do you?" Green demanded, getting as fake-angry as he could. "We've told you every bit of the truth we can, and you don't believe us!"

"Fuckers!" Toni shouted, and shoved away the two doctors- who had abandoned any peaceful attempts and were trying to give her a sedative. "I'll burn you!"

"No, Tori, don't!" Green cried, rushing over and pulling her back in panic. "They're just humans, we can't hurt them!"

"To hell with that, they don't believe us at all!" Toni shrieked.

The doctors exchanged glances and nodded to each other.

They quickly surrounded the two kids they thought were completely insane, and then Green felt something poke into his arm and saw one of the doctors do the same to Toni.

Syringe. Sedative.

It was enough to make someone twice their size go down, and the only reason the doctors were even using that much was because they didn't want anyone to get hurt, mostly him and Toni because they were a danger to themselves as well as others.

Of course, the sedatives did work on Deviants- just not as well as they did on humans. The sedatives the doctors were using would normally knock out a person for several hours, if not a day or two.

But with Deviants, it was only a few minutes or something. They'd have to use a hell of a lot more stuff to knock them out completely.

Even if sedatives didn't work properly on Deviants, Green still felt the effects pretty much instantly, and collapsed bonelessly into the arms of the doctor who'd led them here. Toni did the same, still trying to resist but weakening with every passing second.

"This should keep them both out for the next few hours." one of the doctors murmured.

Minutes, Green thought privately.

"Should we keep them seperate?"

"Not for now, no. When they start getting better, maybe . . ."

And then darkness closed in on him.

 **oooo**

He woke up in an unfamiliar room on a bed that wasn't very comfortable. Of course, the patient's comfort was obviously the last thing on these people's minds, and Gem was basically a mining town.

All money they earned was spent figuring out how to make their mining jobs easier and more, well, green.

He sat up after checking that no doctors were in the room, and glanced to his side.

Toni was just waking up, and she immediately complained groggily about the state of the beds.

"Shut up." Green mumbled, but he was recovering fast. He slapped himself a couple of times and felt more awake. "C'mon, shock yourself, we gotta get going."

He heard a small zap while he got off the bed, and checked the door.

It wasn't locked, good. That meant he and Toni could just slip out without having to resort to their powers. Not that that was a bad thing, really, it just meant that they'd have to be more sneaky.

"We gonna do this like Azalea?" Toni yawned, wandering over.

"No." Green answered. "For one thing, these people aren't terrorists. They're just really stupid doctors. And for another, we actually need to get to Flynn before we do anything."

"I don't have my pokemon." she announced, patting her belt.

"Neither do I, they probably took them away in case we tried to use them against them or something." Green muttered. "We'll find them after we get Flynn."

"Uh-huh." Toni said.

Green opened the door, doing a quick mental scan to see if anyone was in the corridor, but it didn't look like there was. The doctors clearly thought they'd be able to focus on other patients until the two of them woke up.

Hah, right.

Muttering for Toni to follow him, because she was still half-asleep, and he led the way down the corridor.

Most of the doctors seemed to be focused on a patient who was having a violent breakdown in the living room (or whatever they called it), so that left very few to be wandering these halls.

So they could move without using Ghost Phase.

"You tried tracing him yet?" Toni asked, a few minutes later. She was more awake now.

"What? No, we haven't even found him yet." Green told her. "I can't Trace Flynn unless I'm actually in the same room. I'm not as powerful as the Tracer Psychics back at the city."

"No I mean . . . looking for him. We're kinda walking in circles I think."

Green stopped and looked at her. "No we're not."

Toni sighed and pointed to a sign that Green had seen three times before.

Though he'd assumed that there was more than one of the same sign, evidently not because- after sorting through his memories- he could see that it was actually the same one. Oh.

"I think that sedative shit did more than you realised." Toni smirked, as she walked past him. "How about I just try out my Magnet Pass?"

"The compass thing? Uh, that's a horrible idea." Green told her, even as he followed. "First off, last time we tried that we ended up back in New Bark. I'm still not sure how. And second, it involves using a load of electricity. Nevermind attracting attention, you'd blow up the entire damn building!"

"What if I did a lower-powered version?"

"You don't know the meaning of the word."

"Oh, yeah, you're right." Toni agreed shamelessly. "Fine, we'll use your currently-not-functioning Psychic power."

"No, we won't use either of our powers." Green corrected her, once again taking point. "If my Psychic powers aren't working properly yet, we can't risk using them. And using your Electric type would just blow any chance at sneaking around."

"What about the Ghost bit?"

"If my Psychic powers aren't working, what makes you think our Ghost ones will?"

Toni groaned and banged her head on a nearby wall.

"I hate sedatives." she mumbled grumpily. "They fuck with whatever powers we have. And then some."

Green agreed whole-heartedly.

Okay, so maybe he'd lied before. Deviants could wake up sooner than humans would, but sometimes the sedatives had . . . extra effects. This happened to be one of them- their abilities would be dampened slightly, and it would be harder to call on them.

The only thing that seemed to be working for Green was the mental scans which allowed him to see if there was someone coming.

If there was, he and Toni would hide behind the first whatever they could find. Mostly it was tables, these people appeared to like them for some reason.

He had no idea why.

Since his abilities were now significantly limited, he could only check a room to see if there was a person inside it. He could also tell if that person was male or female, so at least that ruled out some of the ones they passed.

It was kind of embarrassing when they opened a door to a room with a male in and he wasn't the guy they were looking for, though.

After several errors and mentally-scarring sights (to Green, Toni just didn't give a shit), they finally found him.

Green opened the door after checking it, and sighed in pure relief.

"Oh thank fuck." he said, as Flynn looked up in confusion. "Toni, he's in here!"

Toni came rushing over, abandoning her weird conversation with a woman who thought she was a Lucario.

"Hey there." Toni greeted brightly.

" . . . Who are you?" Flynn asked.

Green shoved Toni into the room and then locked the door behind them. He turned back to Flynn.

"Green, and this is my friend Toni." he explained rapidly. "Look, we might not have much time- the doctors think we're both asleep right now, and if they check up on us everything's gonna go to hell. Normally I'd just Teleport us out of here, but we need to find our pokemon and my powers aren't working properly right now."

"Teleport?" Flynn blinked.

"Just think of us as human pokemon, no time to explain." Toni told him. "You're the same."

"What?"

Clearly this guy wasn't insane, just confused. He was probably only in this place because people thought he was crazy, for thinking pokemon could talk or whatever his Deviant stuff did for him.

Ugh, the things they had to do to keep Deviants a secret, seriously.

"Do you have any pokemon of your own?" Green asked Flynn.

"I did, but the doctors thought they'd only hinder my healing." Flynn explained. "Because I think I can understand them, but I can't, so-"

"You can." Toni interrupted angrily. "Fucking hell, what's with humans and saying things like this are impossible? Hell, understanding pokemon isn't even an ability specific to Deviants! Psychics and Aura Adepts can do it to, not to mention some people who've just been around pokemon their whole fucking lives!"

" . . . I didn't know you felt so strongly about this." Green admitted, somewhat surprised.

"Well now you do."

"So I'm not crazy?" Flynn gasped. "I-I really can understand pokemon?"

"Yep." Green nodded. "Also, we said we're like human pokemon. You're that too. It's called being a Deviant, we're kinda like mutants only we have types and stuff- I'm a Psychic/Ghost type and Toni's an Electric/Ghost type. No idea what you are, cus I don't wanna rely on Tracing you yet. Sedatives and everything."

"Fair enough." Flynn agreed, standing up. "So, you're gonna break me out, is that it?"

"And put you in contact with a friend of ours, so she can give you to someone who'll take you to the city." Green said. "It's an underground place where Deviants go to train. Rena'll explain more, we don't have the time, come on already!"

"I'm not saying no to getting out of this dump." Flynn muttered.

Green opened the door and they started walking, ignoring the woman-who-wasn't-a-Lucario calling out loudly.

"She gonna be a problem?" Toni asked, glancing back.

"Mira does that a lot, no one takes much notice anymore." Flynn said. "But I gotta say, it's weird. I always imagined being rescued sometimes, because this has felt like a prison for the past ten years, but I never expected to be rescued by a couple of kids."

"Ten years?" Green gaped at him. "How old are you?"

"Uh . . . twenty two."

Jirachi fucking Christ.

Flynn knew every bit of the mental hospital, having used whatever free time he had to explore. So he was able to lead Green and Toni to where the doctors kept the pokemon, who were mainly therapy ones waiting around for sessions with the patients.

A few of them looked up when the three entered, but most didn't make a move to stop them.

"The pokeballs that they took from the patients are in the back." Flynn said. "They're all labelled by name. If we split up, we'll be able to find them quicker."

Green and Toni glanced at each other.

"If you find any with Jade Ash or Tori Alkali on, those're ours." Green told him. Flynn looked at him. "We had to use fake names," he went on defensively. "Otherwise this wouldn't have worked properly."

"Right, okay." Flynn nodded slowly. "But aren't those names a little close to your actual ones?"

"Our other fakes are Tommy and Phoebe." Toni shrugged. "And besides, humans are kind of dumb when it comes to stuff like this."

"Toni." Green scolded her.

He had to admit, he did have to agree. Not all humans were complete morons, of course, but the majority did seem to be so retarded that Green could have probably wandered around with his real name and no one would bat an eyelid.

Oh well.

They found their pokemon fairly quickly, since they were all kind of together. There didn't actually seem to be very many there, and Flynn said that most patients had been there since they were young- in other words, too young to be actual Trainers.

"This is just stupid, they don't even sound like they're trying to help." Green muttered.

"Most doctors don't, half the patients here are lost causes so they're just looking after them." Flynn sighed. "Others get some more attention, because they're 'on the road to recovery'. I'm supposed to be one of the 'recovery' patients, but since I know I'm not crazy . . ."

"Let's just focus on getting out first, then we can rage about these idiots."

Flynn, as it turned out, appeared to have a Spritzee and an Eevee. Green had no idea how he'd managed to get a Spritzee in Johto, but maybe it was a present from someone.

Whatever, escape first, ponder later.

Green sent out Ziva, who glared around at her surroundings like they had personally offended her. Maybe they had.

"Here." Green said, handing her the three belts of pokeballs. "Take these and get out as fast as you can, we'll follow."

 _"This does not sound ideal."_ Ziva frowned, looking at him. _"Would it not be better if you had us with you, to 'bail you out', as it were?"_

"Probably, but we might actually move faster if we didn't have to worry about one of you sacrificing yourselves to get Flynn and us out." Green told her.

"Wow, I really can understand her." Flynn whispered in awe.

"It's awesome, right?" Toni grinned up at him. Flynn nodded.

Ziva continued to look at Green. She didn't look like she agreed at all, but she couldn't deny it- she and the other pokemon would probably burst out of their balls to hold off the doctors if they got caught.

It'd take less time if she zipped out now. Warrior Scythers could move fast enough that only a burst of sudden and slightly violent wind was the only indication that they'd even been there.

"Ziva, just go already! We might not have much time." Green pressed. An alarm started wailing. "Though I could be wrong."

 _"WARNING, PATIENTS ESCAPED. WARNING, PATIENTS ESCAPED."_ a robotic voice said.

"Sheesh, what the hell is this, a prison?" Green muttered. He looked back at Ziva. "Why are you still standing there?"

Ziva opened her wings and shot off through the door, practically tearing it off its hinges.

At least that made it easier for them to get out.

"Just follow where she goes." Green instructed Flynn. "You're our priority right now, and I can already feel my abilities coming back. If you get out and we get caught, I can just Teleport me and Toni out."

"What about our covers?" Toni demanded. "You're the one who keeps on about it!"

"Fuck the covers, these people are idiots, they can go crazy for all I care." Green told her. "And if they happen to do so by witnessing us do whatever, that's their fault. Now let's go before they work out where we are."

"Uh . . . how _will_ I know where the Scyther goes?" Flynn hesitantly asked. "I mean, she was flying way too fast for me to . . ."

"She tore a door off its hinges, just follow the path of destruction." Toni informed him.

Following the path of destruction was fairly easy, mainly because Ziva kind of left several mental patients spiralling in her wake, even if she didn't break any doors or walls.

They passed Mira the not-Lucario, who, surprisingly calmly, pointed them in the right direction when they'd accidently lost Ziva's path.

Green tried to read her mind, just to see how well his powers were at the moment, but all he got was an empathic reading instead of the newer, more refined telepathy. Great. He was back to how he was before Faceless died. Hopefully this was only temporary and it wouldn't take another team member's death to kick-start it again.

But at least the other abilities he had would return fairly soon. Maybe the full telepathy was taking longer because it wasn't as natural to him as they were.

They kept going, and if they met a doctor along the way, Toni just drop-kicked them into unconsciousness. Normally he wouldn't have let her do anything like that, but it was kind of satisfying.

And then shit went to hell, as it usually did.

They turned a corner and stopped, stunned.

Ziva lay half-conscious in a heap against the wall, a blade held in front of the pokeballs protectively. She hardly even reacted by the Deviants' appearance.

The reason why she was half-conscious was firing off periodic Fire Blasts at any humans or pokemon who tried to get close to it.

"The fuck?" Toni demanded. "Why is there a shiny Dratini here?"

"Is it one of the doctors'?" Green asked Flynn, signalling for them both to back off with him.

"No doctor I know has a shiny. And as far as I know, there aren't any Dragons among the patient pokemon, or the therapy ones." Flynn said shakily.

Well, shit. Was the pokemon just rampaging and happened to turn up at the mental hospital, or what?

Green and the purple Dratini locked eyes, and suddenly he was inside the Dratini's mind.

 _ **Pain**_ was the first thing he was aware of.

The second was a dark, cramped space- and metal bars- a cage? It was far too small for a pokemon of this size . . .

 _ **Pain**_ came again, but mentally, when dark shapes appeared crouching in front of the cage. They spoke loudly, without any consideration for the serpentine Dragon in the tiny cage, and poked their fingers through the bars to prod at its' skin.

Real _**pain**_ came back, and suddenly the Dratini screamed, lashing out as best as it could- and was punished for its' terrified efforts with a harsh shout and the cage being kicked violently.

 _ **Pain**_.

Images flashed through the serpent's mind- needles forcefully pushed in without any painkiller, skin changing from the beautiful ocean blue to a sicky purple colour, and then back, over and over.

More _**pain**_.

The shapes jeered and laughed and the Dratini was taken out of the tiny cage, but the relief at being out was short-lived as the serpent was taken back to the lab, where more needles were pushed in and more experiments were done.

Skin changing colour. _**Pain**_. Turning into a more violent creature- a sicky purple thing that wasn't a shiny pokemon, but could pass as one, and anyone who tried to catch it would be torn to pieces.

The blue Dratini watched from inside its' own mind as the purple Dratini was let loose for field tests, and in the weeks that followed, reports of missing Trainers and children and parents and any human being were plentiful.

And _**pain**_.

 _ **Pain**_ that never went away, not for a single second, even as a Trainer wearing red took down the people who had experimented on the blue Dratini, even as it escaped with other experiments who soon perished because the purple Dratini was more bloodthirsty than anything on the planet.

More humans found it, months after it escaped, and suddenly it was in another cage- but surrounded by laughter and friendliness.

And then it was taken by a red haired girl wearing an Umbreon hat.

"GREEN!"

He snapped back into awareness to find himself shivering on the floor, staring at the sicky purple Dratini which had suddenly gone still.

"Green!?" Toni was shouting, shaking him. "Hey, listen to me, what happened? Are you okay?"

"My powers are back." was all he could think of saying.

"What the fuck- what even was that?" Toni snapped. "Your eyes just went- they went Poison! I thought you'd gone mad!"

"No- no, I wasn't . . . That was him." Green said, raising a hand weakly to point at the Dratini.

"How do you know it's a him?" Flynn asked, glancing down at them. It looked like he was protecting the two kids, but Green wondered how. They didn't even know what type he was.

"Toni." Green said, instead of answering. "Do you think you'd be able to recognise Gemless? No matter what he looked like?"

"I like to think so, yeah- wait, why is this suddenly relevant?" Toni demanded. "That thing-"

"That thing _is_ Gemless."

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: HAH, FUCKING CLIFFHANGER, BITCHES.

Green: Congratulations, you've just ruined the mood.

Renny: . . . I have? Shit. Oh well. This one's probably shorter than that filler one we had for chapter nine or whatever it was, but I just wanted to give you lot the most awesome ending possible- because, really, this is a fairly cool ending, don't you all think?

Green: What are you trying to do?

Renny: What?

Green: This. You're kinda rambling. Are you trying to fill it out so it's a bit longer?

Renny: . . . Maaayybeeee?

Green: You are impossible. Also insane.

Renny: That's a good thing, though.

Green: Only you would count being insane as a good thing.

Renny: It means I'm not boring. Read and review! And don't forget the prank ideas!


	16. Chapter 16- Mind Games Part 2

Renny: Heyyy welcome to chapter sixteen!

Green: Eventually.

Renny: Oh shut up, at least this isn't like _Historically, Not Awesome_. Disclaimer, because I can't think of anything to say here.

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

"No." Toni said. "No fucking way. That- that's not Gemless."

"It is." Green replied, slowly standing up. "It's Gemless, really. I . . . I saw it. I was in his head."

The purple Dratini- the other Gemless- still wasn't moving, and was watching Green like a Braviary.

"How?" Toni demanded, reaching over automatically to help him up. "How is it Gemless?"

"It's . . . Not right now, okay, I can't explain now- we need to calm him down somehow."

"Looks pretty calm to me." Flynn mused. "Maybe he'll change back on his own-"

Gemless let out a screech that pierced the air, and made the floor and walls shake. He slammed his tail onto the floor and it cracked in a spider-web pattern, and the web cracks started to glow a mysterious purple.

" . . . Can Dratini learn Fissure?" Toni wondered.

No.

Then the floor started to shake and more spider-web cracks- even bigger than the previous ones- appeared, snaking jaggedly towards Green, Toni and Flynn.

 _Well shit. At least he's just attacking us,_ Green thought.

And not, you know, the fallen Ziva- or any of the humans who were staring at the purple Dratini, mouth and eyes open wide in shock.

He flung his arms out and threw up a Protect shield, and then for good measure (because Fissure was a one-shot move for a _fucking reason_ ) added in a few Barriers to strengthen the shield.

The ground shook, but the cracks didn't reach the three Deviants and they were only thrown off-balance. Thank Mew the trick to avoiding one-shot attacks had been found out ages ago, otherwise they could have died.

Unfortunately, the Fissure attack broke Green's shield, and it promptly shattered into pieces, and then sort of evaporated.

"Shit- shit, bring up another one!" Toni cried, when Gemless started charging up some blue-purple ball of Dragon energy.

It didn't look like Dragon Pulse, but something that looked far more powerful.

Draco Beam, maybe?

But that was impossible- it was like a Hyper Beam version of Draco Meteor, and only fully evolved Dragon types could learn it.

Yet . . .

"I-I can't!" Green cried, panicking. He was trying, he was desperately trying, but it seemed like he'd exhausted his powers and they'd given up on him for now.

And Toni didn't know how to make any shields at all. She could probably learn, but she couldn't at the moment.

Flynn looked at them both and then at the charging attack, and stepped in front of them.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" Toni snapped.

"I . . . I don't know." Flynn sounded stunned. "I just . . . I know I won't get hurt. Just stay behind me, o-okay?"

Green suddenly got a weird sensation of light and gentleness. A moon bursting into pure light, which didn't make much sense because it was the _moon_ , and then suddenly it actually did make sense.

Oh. Well okay then.

"Toni, get back." Green ordered. She spun towards him in shock. "It'll be fine, Dragon doesn't affect him."

"Wait, you mean like-"

Gemless fired, and Flynn shouted.

There was a bright flash of light and a strange darker pulse, probably Gemless's Draco Beam breaking apart upon contact with Flynn, and then silence.

Green and Toni looked up, and saw Flynn standing there, completely unharmed.

The purple Dratini was shocked, and his mouth gaped open. Well, clearly this demented version of Gemless wasn't as familiar with type matchups as the other Gemless was.

 _ **"No type is flat out immune to Dragon!"**_ purple Gemless screeched.

"Fairy is." Green answered, and Gemless snapped his head around to stare at him.

Flynn did too, though his stare was more shocked than pissed off.

"You mean you Traced him?" Toni gasped, grinning. "Holy shit! How many Fairy Deviants are there? Like, virtually none. This is awesome."

"I'm a rare type?" Flynn blinked.

"It's rare for a Deviant to be a Fairy type, the actual pokemon type itself is about as common as Fire or Dark types." Green explained.

 _ **"IT DOESN'T MATTER."**_ Gemless shouted.

"Ohcrap." Toni said.

Gemless screeched something no one understood, and then started to charge another attack. It wasn't another Dragon Pulse, but it looked more like a Fire attack- one that Green didn't actually recognise as an actual move.

So he was just gonna blast them, then.

Great.

Ice suddenly burst out of his pokeball, and then clamped his jaws around Gemless's tail. By the screech he got in return, Green guessed he'd used Ice Fang.

"Why is everyone throwing themselves into danger today?" Toni wondered, before doing just that. "LEEROOOYYYY JENKINNNSSSS!"

She dashed forward, ignoring Green's shout to stay back, and chucked a Thunder Wave at Gemless.

The purple Dratini hissed and spat, but with ice crawling up his tail on one end and lightning paralysing him on the other, he couldn't do much other than screech loudly.

Green noticed some of the doctors watching with open mouths, and was suddenly thankful that Rena had shown him how to do a mind-wipe on more than one person at a time. But not right now, he had to deal with Gemless first.

He reached out psychically, and gripped Gemless's mind in his clutches. Green almost let go when the Dratini's thoughts turned tagged, like spikes piercing Green's own mind, but he kept a firm hold and reached out again.

He dragged Toni into Gemless's mind with him, shielding both of them against the jagged thoughts as best as he could (which wasn't very well considering he was using most of his power to get them into Gemless's mind), and then suddenly they were both in black nothingness.

" . . . Where the fuck are we?" Toni asked, looking around.

She spotted Green and rushed over to help him up.

"Holy shit, dude, your eyes are bleeding!" Toni cried.

Green groaned quietly and shook her off. He ran a finger under one eye and then looked at it, and holy shit he was bleeding, wow.

"Okay . . . new rule." he said, turning to Toni. "Next time I decide to copy Sam and Dean, slap me. I'm obviously high off my fucking ass."

"Obviously." Toni snorted. "Moving on. Where are we."

"Gemless's mind, I assume." Green sighed.

"Wait, did you just drag both of us into a big load of fuck all inside Gemless's _head_?" Toni demanded, flailing her arms around wildly. "What the fuck, Green! You're meant to be the smart guy!"

"I am, I am, I just- I can't think properly, this was the only plan I had!" Green cried. "Maybe if we hadn't been knocked out, maybe if I didn't still have the fucking sedatives in me . . . I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry I got us into this mess. I should have just knocked Gemless out."

"No, dude, it's okay, I'm not mad at you." Toni told him. "I'm literally just venting, this whole situation is screwed and I have no idea what the fuck's going on anymore. Like, Flynn's a Fairy type? Gemless is suddenly doctor Jekyll and mister Hyde? And I'm pretty sure we had a cliffhanger last chapter, so fuck that as well."

"Last chapter?" Green asked.

"Never-the-fuck-mind that, what do we do?" Toni glanced around at the nothingness and pursed her lips in annoyance. "Seriously, aren't we meant to be doing something, like sorting out his issues or whatever it is? There was this one episode of _Supernatural_ where Cas decided it was suddenly a great idea to become a hunter, no idea why, and he basically dragged Sam into this crazy old psychic's head to sort out his problems and stop all these insane robberies that should have been in, like, fucking kiddie cartoons or some shit. Is that what this is?"

" . . . Why did you feel the need to explain an entire episode of _Supernatural_?" Green wondered. "I saw it too. I know what you're on about."

"For the readers."

"For the- what? What are you even on about?"

"Nothing, nevermind, is that what we have to do here?"

"But you- oh for . . . Yes, probably." he sighed, facepalming. He'd have to ask someone else what the fuck she meant, he had no idea. "Except this isn't necessarily a mental thing. It wasn't born out of . . . him being senile or just plain crazy or whatever."

"I'd be worried if he was senile, because I'm pretty sure he ain't that old." Toni muttered.

"Can you take this seriously for one. Damn. _Second_." Green snapped.

"Yeah. Sorry. Go on."

" _Thank you_. He was experimented on- whatever this is, the purple Dratini isn't actually Gemless. Like you said, Gemless is suddenly Jekyll and Hyde." Green said, looking around. "Team Rocket did it, I think, they were doing some weird experiment to do with combining pokemon to make them more powerful, only it kind of created Hyde for Gemless."

"Damn, so we're basically dead." Toni whistled.

"No, we are not." Green told her. "He's killed a lot of people, but we won't die. It's kind of impossible, when we're in his mind. Unless he has some sort of pychic power I don't know about, he can't actually kill us properly. We'll just be thrown out."

"Oh, great, so we're safe as long as we don't get knocked out." Toni muttered.

"Well . . . kind of." Green said.

"What now."

"If you get knocked out, you get thrown out of Gemless's mind- back into the 'real world', I think is the proper term." Green tried to explain. "But, uh . . . if I get knocked out, everything gets dragged into my mind, because I got us here to begin with."

Toni looked at him.

" . . . Okay, so, you getting knocked out is a bad idea." she said, nodding. "Right. Got it."

"Glad you do. I can pull us out anytime I want, just so long as we don't accidently drag Gemless- or, well, Hyde- with us."

"What happens if we do that?"

"No idea, this hasn't been done before. I'm just assuming it's a bad idea to drag the demon with us." Green replied, shrugging.

"You are the most useful Psychic on the planet, you know that?" Toni told him.

"Shut up and pay attention- the scene's changing."

And it certainly was.

Instead of black nothingness, Toni and Green found themselves standing in what looked like an old, run-down lab. People walked about, ignoring the two of them, so Green assumed this was some sort of memory.

"Look." he hissed, pointing to a bunch of cages that were far too small for the pokemon inside.

"That's Gemless. Right?" Toni whispered.

Green nodded, and they watched the scene he'd saw before- the humans, the Rocket grunts, poking at Gemless and making him lash out in pain and fear. They stuck needles into him and his skin changed colour, and briefly the now-sickly purple Dratini looked like he was about to burn down the cage and kill the grunts.

But then his skin changed back, and started to flicker between the two.

" . . . Holy shit." Toni said, which pretty much summed everything up.

Green and Toni watched- in far more detail than the flashes he'd gotten before- as Gemless was taken away and experimented on again and again. They watched him be set free for 'training sessions', as Hyde, bloodthirsy, murdered Mew-knows how many people just for the sake of Team Rocket's gain.

"I really wish Neron had sent in some people to sort out these twats sooner." Toni muttered, as Hyde tore apart some poor old lady and used her insides as noodles.

"No one thought they'd be much of a threat." Green answered. "And by the time we figured out that they _were_ , they'd already been taken down."

"By who?"

"Red, if you can believe it. Blue, too."

Toni scoffed. "Yeah right. Like that bloody dick even cares about anyone other than himself."

Green hardly even believed it himself, but then they went through the memories- a little quicker, now that they'd begun to be slightly repetitive- and suddenly a boy wearing red was tearing apart the Rocket base.

" . . . Well." Toni said, blinking. "Shit. That _is_ Red."

Gemless escaped with the other experiments, along with an Eevee who could switch between three of its' evolutions which went a different way- to Red, Green assumed, because that was where he'd gone. Was the Eevee one of his pokemon?

The scene changed and suddenly Green and Toni were looking at Hyde, surrounded by every single one of the other experiments' dead and bloody bodies.

"Right, that's not natural at all." Green decided, as Hyde screeched and fired off a Draco Beam into the night sky. "Clearly whatever those Rockets gave him created some sort of power boost beyond any reason . . ."

"That explains the Fissure." Toni muttered.

"And the Draco Beam."

"And _what now_!?" Toni shrieked.

Oh, right, she hadn't exactly seen it properly.

Well, at least she knew now.

Hyde let out another loud screech and suddenly stopped. The silence was weirdly deafening, and when Green and Toni looked over, Hyde was staring straight at them.

He was grinning.

The forest around them fell to pieces and then the three of them were in some sort of rocky wasteland that'd give Orre a run for its money. The sky was blood red and the stars seemed to be glowing with black fire.

 **"Welcome."** Hyde said, waving his purple tail around as if gesturing to the wasteland. **"Do you like it?"**

"The fuck even is this?" Toni snapped.

 **"The furthest reaches of my- our, sorry- mind."**

"So you're not some split personality then?" Green asked, eyes narrowed. "You're a seperate being?"

Hyde shrugged. **"Give me an empty Dragon vessel and I will be my own creature. Yes, I am a seperate being."**

Thunder and lightning danced across the sky, which was weird because there wasn't a cloud in sight. Unless the blood red sky was actually one massive cloud itself.

"How come you came out?" Green asked him. "There was no reason for that."

 **"** _ **Au contraire**_ **, my insane friend."** Hyde laughed. It wasn't a nice sound. **"Gemless- as you call the weak little bastard now- was panicking. Poor thing was worried about you two and the Fairy. You know how some people say it is easier to tear into the mind when the owner of said mind is feeling high emotional stress? Well, it is true. I took over for a short while. No doubt the cunt will take back control soon enough, but I may as well cause some mayhem while I'm out."**

"Why!?" Toni thundered, just as more thunder crashed overhead. Fitting. "What the fuck have we done to you?"

 **"Absolutely nothing."**

Both of them were confused.

 **"I was created solely to cause misery and destruction."** Hyde explained. The wind was picking up and it felt like they were gonna be blown off their feet. **"While I did hate those visionless morons in Team Rocket, they did allow me some free time to . . . amuse myself. That idiot boyfriend of yours put a stop to that, so now I take over from time to time and, well, you know the rest."**

"Fuck off, Red's not my boyfriend!" Green spat.

"Dude, you're getting pissed at that?" Toni sighed. "Get your priorities straight."

"You fuck off too!"

Hyde just watched them with mild amusement.

 **"Children these days."** he sighed. **"Oh well. Since you went through the trouble to come here . . . I may as well be a good host. Green, you mentioned that you cannot be knocked out in here. I wish to find out why. Fight me."**

"That's a horrible idea." Toni said, before Green could answer. "Seriously. He's worse than you."

Green glared at her.

"I'm not hearing any denial here." Toni pointed out.

"Fine, okay, whatever." Green muttered. He turned back to Hyde. "Look, just go away for now, please. I'd rather not right you- and you really don't want Toni hurling herself at you again, believe me."

 **"That** _ **was**_ **quite unpleasant."** Hyde agreed.

"So, it's basically in everyone's best interest that you just let Gemless take over again." Green went on as calmly as possible, what with a fucking psychopath looking right at him. "You said it yourself, he'll come back anyway, so why bother going through the hassle of fighting over the body if he's gonna win?"

 **"I suppose- wait. Oh, you are a clever child."** Hyde's grin was back and he smacked his tail off the ground, making it shudder violently. **"You almost had me there. But not quite. Better luck next time, children."**

"LEAVE THEM THE FUCK ALONE!"

A huge hurricane of _something_ hit Hyde and blasted him away several hundred feet.

The hurricane swirled and crashed, and died down gradually, until Green and Toni could see Gemless himself coiling up in the remainder of the great winds.

The Dratini looked over at them anxiously.

"He . . . didn't hurt you, did he?" Gemless asked.

"We're fine, he was just being a dick." Toni reassured him.

"Yeah, he's generally a dick . . . Look, why did you come in?" Gemless demanded, suddenly looking angry at them- mostly Green, really. "You heard him, I'll eventually take over again."

"But how many people or pokemon would he have killed before that?" Green wondered.

Gemless flinched.

"Look at it this way- he's focused on us right now, so he won't be attacking anyone else." Green tried to reason with the Dragon. "Since he's not actually a split personality or whatever, I can't promise that we'll be able to beat him back and lock him up; he's his own being, he can just break out of whatever cage I put him into- _Toni if you make a Supernatural reference right now I'll kill you_."

Toni huffed. "Fucking spoilsport."

"Fine, you can help." Gemless sighed. "What can you do, exactly?"

Toni held up a sparking hand, and Green's eyes flashed purple.

"You keep Hyde busy." Green instructed him. "Since both of you seem convinced that you'll eventually take over again, I assume you're strong enough to keep him distracted. Toni can hit him with a massive Thunder Wave to stop him from moving, as soon as I've finished making a cage powerful enough to hold him- for now."

"And you've never dealt with this kind of thing before." Gemless guessed.

"Haha, no." Toni said. "You watch it on these fucking TV shows and movies and they mame it sound so easy . . . but nooo it's just a shitshow waiting to happen. And this one's happening right fucking now."

"Get moving!" Green called, when he saw Hyde coming back over the hill he'd been thrown over.

He dashed off to a reletively safe place, while Toni reluctantly held back from full-on attacking Hyde right there and then. Gemless went straight for him, which was slightly unusual since normally he tried to keep his opponent as far away as possible.

Then again, this was probably why.

From here, Green couldn't see what was happening in the battle. He could hear it though, and wasn't able to tell the difference between the identical screeches from both Dragons as they fought. No, he wasn't going to try and use his Psychic abilities to find out which one was which- because that might give Hyde a way to control him.

This was technically their mind. Even if Green was a powerful Psychic/Ghost Deviant, he couldn't exactly control what went on in other peoples' heads.

 _ **Thank you for the information.**_

Shit.

Green only had half a seconds' warning, before suddenly his entire body- well, mind- was wrapped in unimaginable _**pain**_.

He screamed so loudly that he was pretty sure anyone not in Gemless's mind could hear him.

Fucking hell, how had Hyde managed this? Had the damn purple Dratini been listening to his thoughts?

He could barely hear anything over his own screams, but suddenly he was aware of someone else- a girl, a girl, who was she- kneeling beside him, shouting something at him.

He could only just barely what she was saying.

"-don't fucking go-"

Don't fucking go what?

He felt something digging through his mind. Hyde, most likely. He was looking for something, but what he had no idea.

The purple Dragon was just searching aimlessly, as far as he was aware. There was nothing but that damn Dragon and all this _**pain**_.

He paused in his screaming when suddenly the pain was gone, but it was a short-lived break because the purple Dragon drove closer to whatever he was looking for-

And suddenly it all made sense.

The purple Dragon was looking for something in the furthest corners of his mind, dragging jagged thorns with him as he searched so he could cause more _**pain**_ and more _**suffering**_.

Poison.

His eyes turned a darker shade of purple and he looked at the girl next to him.

" . . . Oh shit." she said.

This somehow seemed uncharacteristic of her, to be without a joke or a sarcastic comment, but he didn't care.

He stood up slowly, and she backed away, holding her hands up. Trying to show she wasn't armed. But he knew better- this girl didn't even need a weapon, she _was_ a weapon.

He held up his hand and the Ghostfire sprung up, leaping at the girl. She shrieked and tried to run, but more flames blocked her exit.

"Green!" she yelled, spinning around as the Ghostfire surrounded her, just like it had done with that Scyther. "Listen to me! Hyde's done something to you, he's- he's brought out Poison! Come on, dude, please! I know you're in there somewhere, fight it!"

 **"Please be quiet."** he replied.

"Fucking hell, no!" the girl snapped. "I'm not gonna pissing shut up while my best friend's been taken over by some motherfucking science experiment!"

But he hadn't been taken over.

What was this girl even talking about? Whatever.

He decided to leave her there, shouting at him to fight it (fight what?), and glanced over to where the sound of the fighting Dragons could still be heard.

He wasn't sure what he wanted to do, exactly. Something in him kept saying to leave the girl alone, leave her alone because she was important for some reason, and to go to the fight. He didn't know why. Something . . . about a cage.

"Green!" the girl yelled, as he started walking towards the Dragons' battle.

He didn't even look back at her as he Teleported.

He ended up right in the middle of the battle, and casually threw up a Protect shield when two Dragon Pulse's shot out to hit the other Dragon. He would have been hit by those attacks if he hadn't thrown up a shield.

The battle paused, and both Dragons looked at him.

" . . . Green?" the blue one asked. "What's going on? Is the cage ready?"

He glanced at the blue Dragon and tilted his head.

For some reason, seeing his face- or maybe his eyes- made the blue Dragon freeze in shock.

 **"So . . . this is why knocking you out would have been a bad idea."** the second Dragon, a sickly purple one, said. **"Interesting. There seems to be no change to you except for your eyes."**

 **"I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing here, really."** he replied, turning to the purple Dragon. **"There was a girl back there, she was screaming at me. I don't know who she was either."**

The purple Dragon looked even more interested, while he could sense the shock and confusiong from the blue Dragon.

"But . . . how could you not recognise her?" the blue Dragon asked. "Green, she's your best friend- Toni!"

 **"Is she important? I couldn't kill her."** he said.

This horrified the blue Dragon for some reason.

 **"Curiouser and curiouser."** the purple Dragon said, amused. **"You are indeed the same person, but . . . you lack empathy. You lack Green's sense of morality. You are the perfect killer."**

 **"I don't know what that means,"** he said, turning back to the purple Dragon. **"But I'm pretty sure you're not a nice creature. Wasn't it you who made me hurt?"**

 **"I was merely trying to bring you into light."** the purple Dragon replied smoothly. **"I had no way of know exactly how to do this- anger seemed to be the best way, but I had no way of making you angry. So I caused your . . . alter ego a tremendous amount of pain, and searched his mind for you."**

 **"Alter ego? Is this that Green I keep being mistaken for?"** he asked.

"You don't even know who you are!?" the blue Dragon gasped. "Green-"

 **"Be quiet, Brainless."** the purple Dragon said.

 **"You're not really nice, are you?"** he asked the purple Dragon. **"Just a mean Dragon."**

 **"I was created to be mean, my friend."** the purple Dragon replied.

 **"I don't care."** he said. The purple Dragon looked slightly offended. **"I don't like you. Not one bit. You're mean and you made me hurt."**

 **"What are you-"** the purple Dragon began, but then he cut himself off in surprise when Ghostfire sprang up around him.

 **"You're a bad, mean Dragon and you should go think about what you did."** he told the purple Dragon.

The purple Dragon screeched as the Ghostfire started to swirl around him and under him. It was like a sort of firey portal, possibly to the deepest, darkest parts of hell.

Well, he couldn't make the purple Dragon go there, because this was someone's (the blue Dragon's) mind, but he could force the purple Dragon somewhere else where he wouldn't bother him again.

The purple Dragon started screeching something he couldn't really understand- something about revenge or whatever- as the Ghostfire sprang up and covered him completely.

He waved a hand and the Ghostfire vanished, taking the purple Dragon with it. Then he turned back to the blue Dragon, who backed away slightly.

 **"I'm not sure about you."** he said to the blue Dragon. **"You haven't really been mean to me . . . and you were fighting him when I got here. I don't know if that means** _ **you're**_ **the good guy or the bad guy, or if he's just a really mean good guy. But I know you're not powerful enough to stop me from doing what I want in here."**

"No . . . I don't think I am." the blue Dragon replied. He was scared, and he sounded like he wanted nothing more than to just run away to the girl- whoever she was.

He tilted his head at the blue Dragon.

 **" . . . You're tired."** he observed. **"Aren't you?"**

The blue Dragon didn't reply, but he must have known that he could read his mind and find out anyway. The blue Dragon probably would have lied in fear of what he was going to do to him.

 **"You haven't done anything mean to me, so . . . I guess I could help you."**

He raised a hand, glowing with the power of heat and light, and pushed the light out. It turned into a small, floating ball which glowed like a candle, and then he waved it over to the blue Dragon.

The blue Dragon flinched back. He wasn't sure why the blue Dragon did that, this would help him not be so tired if the purple Dragon ever got out.

The glowing ball found its target and shot inside, and then the blue Dragon started to glow.

He was so focused on the blue Dragon's glowing form that he didn't even realise when the Ghostfire holding back the girl disappeared, and she ran over from where he'd Teleported in.

The girl stopped short of the glowing blue Dragon- who was rapidly getting bigger and longer- and gaped in shock.

The blue Dragon stopped glowing, and he looked around. Then he looked down at himself.

"I . . . I've evolved." the blue Dragon gasped. "I'm a Dragonair. But- you- h-how?"

 **"I said you were tired."** he replied.

The blue Dragon gaped at him. He opened his mouth to explain why he'd done it, because obviously the blue Dragon didn't really understand.

And then a sparking ball of electricity hit him in the head and he lost focus, tumbling to the ground in a heap.

" . . . Shit, did I knock him out?"

"I . . . I don't know. Toni, what was that?"

"What? Poison?"

"Is that what he's called?"

"Kinda. Yeah. S'easier than saying Poison Purple all the time. No idea how Hyde managed to get Green to go Poison though."

Green moaned and sat up slowly. He flinched when sparks flashed across his body and stopped his movements, but then quickly used Refresh and sighed in relief.

"Shit . . ." he muttered. Green glanced up. "Toni, did you have to hit me that hard?"

Toni shrugged, and walked over to help him stand up.

"If I'd used anything less, you wouldn't have lost focus." she told him. "You alright?"

"Think so. Better than last time anyway- for one thing, I didn't kill anyone." Green sighed.

"Uh . . . you didn't kill anyone last time." Gemless pointed out.

"Fucking almost did. Just be glad Hyde didn't actually make me mad, I wouldn't have been able to influence Poison at all if that had happened." Green said.

"Woah, so the only reason I'm not dead is because you actually managed to- wow." Toni whistled. "Well sweet mother of Teresa on the hood of a Mercedes Benz."

"Can you just not." Green groaned. "C'mon, let's get the fuck out of here. Gemless, I'm sorry if you didn't want to evolve."

"It's fine, it would have happened sooner or later." Gemless told him. "At least now I might have the power to hold Hyde back longer than I usually manage . . ."

"This is about the only good fucking thing that came from Poison popping up again." Toni scoffed, as Green grabbed her wrist.

"I'd prefer if I never went Poison Purple again." he told her, and then they both Teleported out of Gemless's mind.

It was a much smoother ride this time, mainly because Hyde wasn't trying to stop him with those Mew-dammed spikes he'd attacked Green with.

Green woke up in his own body with a gasp, and he heard Toni splutter something obscene about mindscapes from nearby.

Flynn just looked confused.

"Uh . . . what just happened?" he asked.

"Me and Toni went into Gemless's mind and we fought this sort-of-not-really evil version of him called Hyde and we technically won." Green told him.

" . . . Right. Okay."

It sounded insane, but it had happened.

Green stood up and looked around at the people watching. Their eyes were wide and they appeared to be trying to catch flies with their mouths.

"Hi." he said loudly, getting their attention. "Don't mind us, just your friendly neighbourhood Deviants. By the way- mindwipe."

His eyes flashed purple- the normal purple, thank Mew- and he gestured. The people watching immediately tensed, and then they all collapsed on the floor, alseep.

"What . . . did you do?" Flynn asked hesitantly.

"I just wiped twenty-four hours from their minds. Probably shouldn't have wiped that much, but this is just being cautious, so I can do whatever the hell I want." Green explained.

"SHIT YES I HAVE A DRAGONAIR."

They both turned around to see Toni dancing happily around Gemless, who looked slightly uncomfortable but strangely pleased.

 _"I don't suppose you remember us."_ Ziva dryly rasped.

"Oh, shit, sorry." Green said, rushing over. He kneeled down. "You alright?"

 _"I shall live."_ the Scyther replied, standing up slowly. _"The danger has passed, correct? Gemless is no longer insane?"_

 _"He's still insane, everyone's fucking insane here."_ Ice snapped. _"We got split personalities everywhere!"_

"Hyde's not a split personality, and Poison's just me without any morality." Green retorted.

 _"You don't have any to begin with."_

"Fine, it's me without basically any sense."

 _"You can't have any sense either."_

"How about it's all that but more?" Toni suggested.

"Fuck this, we're leaving, _now_." Green snapped.

 **oooo**

Rena happily took Flynn away, saying that she was gonna dump him on the first city agent she could find- and literally.

Flynn looked incredibly worried at that comment. Or he probably did, because Rena was speeding away on Lucifer at the time.

 _"Like holy shit you evolved this is awesome welcome to the club of evolvedness Gemless this is fucking awesome!"_ Sparkless shouted.

 _"Your species doesn't evolve though."_ Nameless pointed out.

 _"And you know this HOW?"_

 _"Shut up, Ghostface."_ Ice snapped. _"So explain this to me again- you went inside Gemless's head, while he was going crazy and being this . . . Hyde . . . and then you went Poison Purple. And somehow you managed to evolve Gemless while you're Poison? How?"_

"How am I meant to know?" Green sighed, hiding his face in his hands. "I'm not even sure what I'm capable of when I'm Poison."

 _"Clearly."_

 _"Mom? Are you sure you're alright?"_ Tick asked. _"Last time you went Poison, you were kind of . . ."_

"I'm alright." Green answered. "Really. I'm serious. Stop trying to read my mind."

Tick paused. _" . . . Sorry. I'm just worried, is all."_

"I know, don't worry. I got nothing to hide from you- just don't dive too deep." Green warned him. "What happened with Hyde is basically why."

 _"I won't, Mom. Love you."_

"Love you too."

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: There was something I wanted to say here, but I can't remember what it was . . . oh well.

Green: Moron.

Renny: Whatever. Oh, and I finally saw _Deadpool_ yesterday! Got the movie, because I fucking paid for it, and I just realised that every single Deviant is basically Wade Wilson/Deadpool. Only with different powers.

Green: I'm technically him because I can basically heal.

Renny: Technically, yeah. Only you've got a bunch of Psychic and Ghost powers to go with them. Read and review!


	17. Chapter 17- Callback

Renny: Aaaand welcome back! . . . After several days.

Green: Considering how you left this for several months that one time, several days isn't that bad. And it's not _Redemption_.

Renny: Yeah I fucking know . . . but whatever. Here, have a bunch of random characters who haven't appeared in a while! I'm gonna basically just focus this chapter on everyone but Green and Toni, at least in terms of showing up. They'll still be mentioned a lot.

Green: You realise that you haven't even talked about this-

Renny: Shhh.

Green: But-

Renny: SHHHH. And do the disclaimer.

Green: . . . Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

" . . . so Red and Blue played a massive part in taking down those Rocket dicks last year." Ashley finished. "They also took part in the ninth pokemon League, where Red battled Blue in the finals- and, obviously, won."

 _"Wow."_ Green said, after a few moments. _"I'm still confused though, how come he actually bothered? He's such a dick that I would have mistaken him for a Rocket if I couldn't read his fucking mind."_

"My guess? Becoming the Champion. Unless there's someone there to mellow you out, I suppose you'd just eventually let all of that fame and fortune and shit go to your head." Ashley told him.

"I'd like to mellow the cunt out!" Zo snapped. "Homophobic son of a bi-"

"Anyway!" Ashley said loudly. "He most likely became a dick after he became the Champ."

 _"Explain the homophobia."_

" . . . Shitty upbringing?" Ashley shrugged. "Fuck if I know."

In the background, they all saw a Furret rush past- she was laughing hysterically.

A moment later, a Haunter followed with an Umbreon hat clutched in one hand and a quiet smirk on his face.

And then they saw Toni dashing past, screaming.

 _"GIMME BACK MY FUCKING HAT YOU UNGRATEFUL MOTHERFUCKERS!"_

" . . . What." Zo said.

 _"I think I'd better go help before she kills them. See you!"_

Green's image flickered and then died out, leaving them staring at a black screen.

"I think Johto's screwed with them." Zo commented.

"You don't think they'll be completely insane when they get back?" Anna wondered.

"Uh, they're already insane." Ashley informed her.

 _"So are you freaks."_ Weavile told them.

"Oh piss off, we're all cool."

"I'm scared about what pranks they'll pull when they do get back . . ." Kai murmured.

"Oh shit yeah, they were bad enough before." Ashley agreed. "Now they've been to Fucking-Insane-And-Weird, they're gonna be even fucking worse."

Adrik muttered something about English kids, and Ashley rounded on him to snap back.

"Go to hell." Kiara suddenly said, in her usual monotone.

Everyone stared at her in shock. Even Adrik didn't know how to respond.

"They're good kids." Kiara went on in the silence. "Insane, yes, but good kids."

Then she went silent and continued reading her book, while her Darkrai- Dark- glowered at the room smugly.

Several seconds passed in pure silence.

"She can TALK!?" Zo eventually shouted.

"Oh my Mew Zo shut up." Ashley groaned.

 **oooo**

 _"That was certainly an interesting turn of events."_ Golduck said later.

"Not really, we all knew she could talk." Ashley shrugged.

 _"Except for Zo, apparently."_ Pangoro reminded them.

 _"Does he have a really short-term memory or something?"_ Vaporeon wondered.

"Pfff- fuck if I know, he's weird. All Electric types are, far as I know." Ashley laughed.

Kiara actually could talk- obviously. It was just that she had this weird idea that she only needed to talk if she felt like it. Naturally, Kiara being Kiara, she rarely ever did.

Ashley sometimes wondered how her voice hadn't gone from misuse, because sometimes she didn't speak for months on end.

Then again, she was the only one of them who had a room to herself. She probably talked to her pokemon far more often than she did any of the other Deviants or pokemon she shared the dorms with.

Ashley had no idea what made her so special, but then again it was probably because Kiara would most likely drag whoever protested into hell or something. You know. Since her partner was a Darkrai.

But whatever, she didn't mind- sharing a dorm with Zo and Anna was pretty cool.

Sure, the city people had to kind of alter the two dorms, so that Kiara had one room and Ashley, Zo and Anna had three instead of two, like most Deviants did.

It was weird, but, whatever.

Right now, she and her team- Golduck, Pangoro, Vaporeon, Roserade, Swanna and Chatot- were in the cafeteria. They had an entire table to themselves, which was fine by most people because there were plenty of others.

But, of course, there were the occasional idiots who thought certain tables belonged to them.

"Hey, Freak-features, get off." one of the city agents snapped.

Ashley glanced at him. She knew every single Deviant in the place, even those that came in from extractions (she'd even been on one for a kid called Sammy, at Green's request), and these five gits were certainly not Deviants.

Humans, then.

"Technically I could have you arrested for racial slurs." Ashley told him lazily.

She knew all of these guys, too. She knew everyone. And Ashley didn't need Green's memory-viewing ability to remember all that.

The guy who'd spoken was called Jack, which was kind of further proof of Green's theory that everyone called Jack was a total dick.

The two women in the back of the little human-group were Chinese twins, Jiao and Ai.

The other two men were the big bullies who all the Deviants knew, mainly because they'd pissed off Green once. He'd gone Poison. And had almost killed them until Zo and Adrik managed to stop him. Every single Deviant- and human, for that matter- knew that it was a bad, _bad_ idea to piss Green off.

Sure, you could do it slightly, enough for him to maybe shove you on his hit list, but if you really pissed him off . . . well, you were on your own unless someone took pity on you.

The only reason Zo and Adrik stopped Green was because he would have torn apart the entire city.

The two men were called Nathan and Andy.

Jack sneered down at Ashley, completely ignoring the glares he was getting from her six pokemon.

"Move it, Freak." Jack repeated. "This is our table- go and find one with all your Freak-feature friends."

"Soooo should I file you under harassment or just plain stupidity?"

"Oh, you talk big!" Jack laughed, leaning on the table so he could get all in her face. "But can you walk the talk? You Freaks are all the same, you boast and pretend you don't give a fuck, but really, you're just idiots looking to make a nuisance of yourselves."

Ashley stared at him, unimpressed.

"Can't even come up with a response cus I'm right, huh?" Jack grinned.

"No, I just don't want to lower my IQ by speaking to you. I can already feel it dropping."

Her IQ was actually somewhere near two hundred and twenty. There was no way to accurately round it up, which was why she was one of the smartest people in the city- perhaps the smartest.

So of course Ashley really hated talking to idiots like these racist- or speciesist- dumbasses who thought they were so cool for standing up to someone who could blow a hole through them with a single Hydro Pump.

Yeah, fucking right.

"Who the fuck do you think you are!?" Jack snapped.

"A friend of Green Oak's, who're you?"

At the mention of Green, all five of the idiot humans froze a little. Nathan and Andy especially, and suddenly they both looked like they wanted to run for their lives.

"D-dude, we shouldn't." Nathan stammered quietly.

"Piss off, every Deviant around here says they're friends with the little bastard- and most of them don't even know anything about him!" Jack snapped back. "She's lying."

"Oh really. Well guess what, fuckface, I share a dorm with him." Ashley informed him. "Don't believe me? I'll just pull up the dorm records and you can see for yourselves, eh?"

"Fucking Scottish bitch." Jiao hissed.

"THE FUCK DID YOU SAY, CUNT-LICKER?" Ashley roared, springing up onto her chair so she towered over the fuckers.

Water swirled around her fists, and then hardened into an Ice Punch. She reached back, and the twins flinched back.

"I could arrest you for assult!" Jack shouted.

"Fuckin' try it, cunt!" Ashley snapped back. "Whose side d'you think Neron'd be on, you or me?"

"Oh, of course he'd favour you- his own Freak sister's one of you!" Andy exclaimed, somehow gaining back his confidence after the mention of the kid who'd almost killed him.

"You wanna fuckin' go? Cus Imma wreck your face up, you little-"

"Ashley, calm the hell down."

Adrik, suddenly appearing out of fucking nowhere like he always did (sometimes she wondered if he could use Teleport), gripped her arm and pulled her down from the chair. He looked at her cooly for a moment and then turned to the racist humans.

"Leave." he said, as Weavile prowled around him. "Or we will make you."

"Fucking Freak-features." Jack spat, as he and his idiot friends turned away and left.

Ashley jerked, trying to go after them and make them see how powerful a 'Freak' really was, but Adrik's grip on her arm was unrelenting and he held her still.

"Do not let them get to you." the Russian muttered. "They are trying to provoke a reaction so they can cause a fight."

"Well, they're fucking getting one if they keep at it." Ashley growled. "Cunts. Didn't even believe me when I said I'm a friend of Green's."

"Many Deviants say they are, just to avoid conflict with the more racist of humans." Adrik said, as Ashley sat back down. He and Weavile sat as well, and Ashley's team eventually settled back down too.

"Shame the kid never cared much for making friends outside us." Ashley muttered.

"He had a traumatic past. It even took Toni two years to get him out of his . . . what is the English term? Funk?"

"That's American, dumbass." Ashley reminded him. "In England, they just call it depression."

"Much better than silly words." Adrik muttered. "The English are straight-forward, are they not?"

"More like Toni's just the worst example." Ashley laughed.

 _"Yeah, I think even by English standards she's blunt and over-the-top."_ Golduck scoffed.

"Goldy, be nice." Ashley half-heartedly scolded him.

 _"He has a point."_ Swanna said, half-waking up to actually bother to grace their presence with her voice. _"Toni's weird. Green picked up on that, didn't he?"_

 _"Why're we on about Psycho-boy?"_ Vaporeon wondered. _"And Electro-girl? Weren't we just about Racist-man and his friends?"_

 _"D-don't mention them, they're m-mean!"_ Roserade stammered out.

"Fucking right they are." Ashley agreed fiercely. "And if they use the damn F word one more fuckin' time . . ."

"You just used it." Adrik pointed out critically.

" . . . I didn't know you could joke." Ashley said in surprise.

"You English-"

" _Scottish_."

"Fine, whatever. You do not take notice of things around you. Or if you do, they are unimportant details." Adrik told her.

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment. I'm taking it as a compliment."

"You do that."

The racist thing had been going on for some time now.

Short of calling them mutants, which was actually a compliment, Freak-features or just Freaks was the racist term for Deviants.

When Deviants had first been discovered, over two hundred years ago, they had at first tried to keep their abilities secret. Unfortunately, as the world grew more and more populated with both humans and pokemon, it became harder to keep the new species a secret.

After all, there was no way of telling who was gonna be born Deviant.

Every human being had a type, some people said, and some even had secondary types. It was just a select few who could actually use these types as if they were pokemon, so they named themselves the Deviants- as in, they deviated from human beings to become a new species altogether, one which could harness the powers of pokemon.

They were limited, however, like pokemon were- they couldn't learn every single attack on the planet, not unless there came by some lucky fucker who was partner to a Mew or something.

A partner was a pokemon who connected with a Deviant. Age had no meaning- for example, a man was born who was Deviant, and his partner was a four hundred year old Ninetales. They shared abilities and, mostly, types.

Though you did get the occasional Deviant who didn't share the type(s) of their partner. Adrik was a bad example, since he shared half of Weavile's type, but there was a woman in the city who was a Psychic type, but her partner was a Machamp.

Anyway, it became harder to keep the species secret. No fool they, Deviants realised that if they revealed themselves, there would be panic. Of course, _X-Men_ didn't exist back then, but more skilled Psychic Deviants predicted the way some humans would react if they even found out about Deviants.

So they tried, and tried, but some humans did find out- because sometimes a child was born who showed their abilities openly, like a Fire type who burned down half a forest in a single moment because he or she was upset. A still-born child was suddenly alive and breathing again days after their apparent death.

And now, two centuries later, no humans outside of the city knew about the existance of Deviants- other than historical documents which only spoke of so-called Magic People, 'human pokemon'. At the time, pokemon had been known as magical creatures, so Magic People was the best way to describe them.

But of course, there would always be those humans who held no sympathy for the Deviants.

Like Jack and his idiot friends, for example.

After a couple of years ago, when Green had gone Poison Purple and had almost killed Nathan and Andy for using the slurs and insults, the racism had somewhat died down- mainly because the human agents were terrified of being heard by Green, or someone with the same abilities as him (not that there was).

But ever since it had became known that Green and Toni were away on a mass-extraction in Johto, the humans were speaking out again, and tensions were starting to run high.

Ashley really wished Green would hurry the fuck up and get back home, because he was one of the few people who could actually keep the peace.

Even if he didn't realise it.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: And there we go! And we also get a bit of a backstory for the Deviants, too. To be honest, I didn't even have one- but then I thought of that, and since some people actually do think that humans in the pokemon world all have types but don't have access to the power . . . well, there we go.

Green: Is the whole thing just some sort of god-sent bullshit, or something?

Renny: Don't know, don't care, but we've got some racism as well. Guess that means this is somewhat like the X-Men, only Green helps to keep the peace because everyone's terrified of him killing them in anger. Or apathy. Whichever comes first.

Green: Poison really is insane, huh.

Renny: Even more so than you. Read and review, and if anything doesn't make sense, just tell me and I'll try and figure it out or explain it!


	18. Chapter 18- Seeing Red

Renny: This chapter is very appropriately named _Seeing Red_.

Green: And of course, since you're a massive Originalshipper, people're naturally gonna think that you're suddenly lumping me with Red. FYI, I hate him in this.

Renny: Yeah I know, but it's called _Seeing Red_ for a different reason! I do try and be smart with the chapter titles, it's just that I kinda run out of ideas if too much shit happens in a single chapter- or if there's two or three parts, I just decide to be lazy.

Green: Like with _Mind Games_ , and you just named both as _Part 1_ and _Part 2_.

Renny: Yep! Now then . . . on with the disclaimer so these people can find out why this chapter's called _Seeing Red_.

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

Contrary to popular belief, Red wasn't actually a complete dick.

After all, he'd saved the whole of Kanto- and not to mention probably the world- from the people calling itself Team Rocket.

They stole pokemon for their own gain and had created the ultimate monster. They'd tried to kill fuck-knows how many people, and had tried, several times, to kill Red himself.

Why? Because he kept beating them down, again and again.

First in Mt Moon, where he shut down their operation to look for the Moon Stones. He'd also stopped the pokemon kidnappings in Vermilion, and had shut that down permanently by getting the Grunts working there arrested.

He hadn't gotten Surge, though. That had come back to bite him in the ass later.

He'd then taken down their attempt to make Lavender town into another one of their bases, or at least the pokemon Tower. People had been disappearing constantly, and when Red had heard about this from Mr Fuji, he had gone into the Tower to try and find these people- and also put a stop to the so-called 'ghosts'.

He'd also found Vee, the strange little Eevee with the weird ability to switch between three of his eight different evolutions. Vee had been an experiment from Team Rocket, and Red had unknowingly been instructed to save his life.

Then he'd met Blue, again, and had gotten mixed up in an operation to try and get a disc which would help Team Rocket find a Legendary Mew which hung around Kanto a lot.

Of course they'd stopped that. Mew had gotten away, safe and sound, and Erika had managed to take over the Game Corner in Celadon city- which was another Rocket HQ.

He'd tried to stop Articuno from being taken (which had failed, as he later found out) and had gotten distracted by Gyara, who had gone completely nuts because of the nearby Rockets. They'd been saved by Articuno, who had been captured soon after, though Red hadn't known this.

Red had saved Blaine too, from being killed by Moltres on Cinnabar Island.

He'd also saved the whole of Pallet town when they'd been kidnapped by Team Rocket, for what reason Red hadn't known at the time- until Professor Oak told him about how Pallet town has a strange empathy for pokemon, and Team Rocket had wanted to use that ability to train pokemon into war machines.

Blue had helped out as much as she could, but with the Legendary bird pokemon suddenly appearing and being combined, she'd been terrified. Birds were her greatest fear.

It took the combined efforts of Saur and Blasty to at least push the combined birds back enough for Red to send out Aero, who promptly Hyper Beam'd the birds and Sabrina into submission.

Unfortunately, Surge, Koga and Sabrina had disappeared along with their unknown boss, but every other Rocket member had presumably been captured.

He'd helped Blaine to re-capture Mewtwo, as well, which had been incredibly difficult.

And then he'd fought the Team Rocket boss- who turned out to be the nice Fossil Guy that had given Red Aero's fossil to begin with. That had been some mindfuckery right there.

In a vicious fight to the finish, Red had managed to beat Giovanni, almost dying in the process. He'd promised the little girl he'd saved from a monster Dratini- which was a weird purple colour for some reason- that he'd come back and take the Gym Leader exam, to become the new Gym Leader.

And after beating Blue in the finals of the pokemon League, Red finally started getting ready.

A Gym Leader needed to have a specific type in mind for their Gym, like with Brock being Rock types, and Misty being Water. But Red- after doing a bit of research and pestering his Gym Leader friends, had found that it was only optional.

So he didn't need to train a specific type of pokemon. But he did need seven different teams- simply because of the amount of Badges a Trainer who came in would have.

He'd need a no-Badge team, a one-Badge team, a two-Badge team, and so on. His eight-Badge team, that is, for anyone who had won Leagues before and hadn't started over like some did, would be his normal one.

Red had to spend a couple of years training up his Gym teams. For now, the League had apparently put in a temporary Gym Leader until he was ready to take the Gym Leader exam.

Unfortunately, he could only train these seven teams (well, he only really had four out of seven right now) in his free time. Which he didn't have much of.

The League constantly sent him on little errands and stuff, to oversee the building of this, or to deal with these troublemakers here, and at first Red had enjoyed them. He had done each little errand or job with as much enthusiasm as ever, and sometimes Blue came along too because she was the first runner-up and was just as good of a Trainer as he was.

But soon Red began to grow bored of the little errands and jobs.

He had expected the life of a Champion to be so much more exciting- battles with Legendaries around the world, fighting crime lords when they appeared, getting challenges constantly to fight with the best of the best.

Well. The only Legendaries he'd ever fought had been before the Championship. He'd only fought one big crime boss and had only dealt with small criminals from then on, and as for challengers?

Well, everyone appeared to think he was untouchable. Unbeatable. Those labels were nice, and cool, but it meant that people didn't challenge Red because they knew they'd lose.

Blue sometimes told him that he growing arrogant, but Red disagreed completely- if he was so untouchable, then why _should_ anyone even attempt to battle him?

He'd kept up that mentality for as long as possible, dealing with the little errands so quickly that most of the time he was done within an hour. Obviously he no longer did them with any enthusiasm, mostly looking forward to ending the next dumb errand so he could get back to training his Gym teams.

And then, one day, he and Blue got the call which would send them to Johto.

During the briefing, they were told about a dangerous group of people calling themselves Team Sovereign. Not much was known about them, but a lot of reports had pointed to them being potential terrorists.

Their goals were unknown as of yet, but people were trying to piece together what little information they had. While that was going on, the Chairman sent Red and Blue to Johto- their job was to check each city, town and village for any signs of this Team Sovereign.

Finally, a task worthy of the Champion.

Red remembered a small incident after they'd left New Bark- having finished combing through it. A Spearow had appeared out of nowhere, screeching and Pecking at them.

He had no idea why it had annoyed him so much, but maybe it was because he was finally doing something that was actually worth his skills. He sent out Aero to get rid of the stupid bird- and Blue hadn't objected, she was still somewhat scared of birds (the little ones were fine, so long as they didn't attack or anything).

But she'd objected when Aero had killed the Spearow.

Oh well. Too bad so sad.

When they'd gotten to Violet city, they'd ultimately run into Tommy and Phoebe, the insane twins with the killer Rotom.

He hadn't known the Rotom was a killer at the time, but after running into the two at Azalea town again, he'd certainly known then.

Although somehow Red couldn't shake the thought that the two were different to most starting Trainers.

The most obvious thing was the fact that Tommy had managed to create an egg out of thin air in Violet city, or maybe he'd Teleported it from somewhere.

Another thing was the disrespect the two had shown towards Red- which made no sense at all, until he learned that neither of them had any idea that he was the Champion. But it was still disrespectful.

And, most of all, was that unnatural freak Tommy.

He . . . he liked _other boys_ , for fuck's sake. Red's grandparents had told him that liking people of the same gender- or in some extreme cases, both genders- was a massive sign that a person was sick or insane.

They were freaks.

Red's parents had actually tried to teach Red differently, but what his grandparents had said was true- liking someone of the same gender was just wrong.

Blue kept telling him to let it go, to keep up with the times and not be a prejudice bastard, but Red ignored her. Tommy was unnatural and that was that.

His twin was no better- she lept around a Rotom which had murdered several people and an Arbok which could have easily been rehabilitated, and also had managed to vaporise half a building.

If Blue hadn't talked him out of it, Red would have turned the two in as soon as he could.

However, they had to focus on their job- which, for some reason, didn't seem as hard as it seemed to have been. The only time when they'd actually come across Team Sovereign was in Azalea town. Any other sightings- like when they'd been seen heading into the Bell Tower in Ecruteak, or when they'd attacked a particularly rich farm- seemed to have been dealt with before they could even get there.

And then there was the issue of Gem city.

"So . . . you know _something_ happened, but you can't exactly remember?" Blue asked doubtfully.

The doctor nodded, confused but somehow firm. "Y-yes. We first noticed something was wrong because some of the patients were claiming to have seen two kids breaking out with one of our long-term patients, Flynn Auberon. But the thing is . . . none of the doctors- myself included- even remember these two kids."

" . . . Really." Red said.

"I'm not making this up!" the doctor cried. "In fact, I can hardly even remember what happened yesterday- it's all just . . . it's like my mind's been wiped, or something."

"Usually I try to keep an open mind, but do you really think we'd believe this?" Blue sighed. "First off, two kids who none of the sane people seem to remember were running around in this place. Second, a long-term patient has somehow escaped- and you seem to think that whoever these kids are had something to do with it. Third . . . you can't remember what happened yesterday."

"That just sounds like this Flynn guy went nuts and attacked you, and then did a runner." Red scoffed. "If you have any actual evidence of a actual disturbance- which I highly doubt- then contact the police instead of-"

"But we do have evidence!" the doctor snapped. "Come with me, I'll show you."

He stormed off down one of the corridors. Red and Blue, after exchanging a glance, followed him.

Maybe it wasn't the patients who were insane.

But when the doctor showed them the charred and shattered hallway, neither of them had anything to say.

"See?" the doctor cried. "See? If nothing happened, explain this! None of the patients have pokemon, and if they did we've taken them away from that patient. Flynn was a crazy patient who thought he could talk to pokemon, but he couldn't have managed this! And there's another thing as well."

At that, Red and Blue looked at him, interested.

"What do you mean?" Red demanded.

"It's just . . . it's like a word on the tip of my tongue." the doctor muttered, putting a hand on his head like it was hurting. "I can't quite remember, but . . . I think I _saw_ the two kids- and some of the other doctors have as well, but they can't quite remember either. My memory's too fuzzy for me to tell you exactly what they looked like, so I'm not much help, but I know they were here, and I know they were real- and they took Flynn with them somehow."

" . . . Can you try to describe them?" Blue asked, frowning. "Maybe you remember their names?"

"I . . . I _can_ remember their names, if I try hard enough." the doctor said. He was quiet for a few seconds, concentrating, and then suddenly he gasped. "Jade Ash and Tori Alkali."

"The names don't ring any bells." Red muttered.

For some reason, Blue didn't seem to be paying attention. She seemed focused on something else, mumbling the two names under her breath- Red didn't bother her. If she wanted to get worked up over a couple of kids some crackpot could hardly remember, that was fine by him.

"Any ideas what could have caused this?" Red asked the doctor, gesturing around the destroyed hallway.

"No idea. I wasn't here at the time- and I only know that because any doctors who were can't even remember a single detail from yesterday. Anyone who wasn't nearby didn't seem to have been affected as badly." the doctor explained. "I think maybe one- or both- of these kids were incredibly powerful psychics."

"Yeah right." Red scoffed, thinking of Sabrina. "It'd take years of training to even get to bend a damn spoon, nevermind wiping the minds of every doctor in this dump."

"I'm telling you, I'm not making this up!" the doctor snapped.

"Then why don't you look through the security tapes, or something?"

"Because they've been fried, and we don't know how!"

Even though Red's instincts were telling him to pay more attention to this wild tale, he dragged Blue out of the mental hospital and back to the pokemon centre, where they could rest for the night and hopefully not catch whatever craziness those doctors had.

"Those guys were nuts." Red grinned, jumping onto his bed to lay down on his back. "I mean, I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be looking after the crackpots- not fucking _being_ the crackpots. What a story!"

Blue remained silent.

Red, already sick of her sudden silence, glared over at her.

"Blue, what are you doing?" he sighed, upon noticing her notebook open and on her lap. "Taking notes on how to be nuts, or something?"

"Shut up." Blue snapped back. "I'm thinking."

Red rolled his eyes.

"Hey, do you remember a kid called Green Oak?" Blue suddenly asked, glancing at him.

"Uh . . . kinda?"

"Oh, my mistake, of course you don't. If it doesn't involve you, you don't give a shit." Blue said, exasperated.

"That's not true!" Red exclaimed, sitting up in indignation. "What about this Green kid?"

"He's Professor Oak's missing grandson, idiot!" Blue snapped. "The Professor told us about him- about how he disappeared six years ago! Remember the story now?"

"Oh . . . right." Red said, nodding. "Why're you bringing this up?"

" _Jade Ash_." Blue stressed, holding up her notebook. The name was written on a page, on top of the name 'Green Oak'. "Jade is a green gem, and ash is a type of tree."

" . . . Wait, you're not suggesting that this Jade kid is Professor Oak's long-lost grandson, are you?" Red gaped at her. "I think you've caught whatever crazy those doctors had!"

"Would you shut and listen for one second?" Blue barked. "No one knew whether or not Green died or just got lost- in which case, he most likely died anyway. But what if he's still alive? What if he got kidnapped like me?"

"Right . . . okay, that makes sense." Red agreed, nodding slowly. "But why would he attack a mental hospital and kidnap some idiot who thought he could talk to pokemon? And how did he manage to wipe the minds of every doctor there?"

"I don't know about the kidnapping thing, but maybe he has a powerful Psychic pokemon." Blue mused, leaning back against the wall on her bed. "Or maybe that's why he was kidnapped- because he had really powerful psychic abilities."

"What about the other kid? This Tori person?"

"I don't know!" Blue exclaimed, throwing her arms up. "I only made the connection from Jade to Green because of how similar the names are!"

"Okay, okay, don't get your panties in a twist." Red muttered.

Blue looked like she wanted to hit him, but she didn't.

Probably because she knew he was stronger than her.

(Yes, Red's being an arrogant little shit here- Blue could probably knock him on the floor in seconds.)

"Anyway . . . maybe we ought to call Professor Oak." Blue said. "Ask him more about his grandson, see if we can find out what he looked like."

"How's that gonna help? He was six when he disappeared, so he's twelve now, right? He'll look totally different." Red replied.

"That's why we're using an age-up program." Blue announced. "They're all over the internet nowadays. All we need to do is upload a picture of Green, and then type in the age we need- simple. We'll find out what he looks like and we can show the picture to the doctors, see if they remember anything from seeing the image."

"Fine, fine, whatever . . . can we go to sleep now? I'm bored and tired." Red sighed.

"You are the dumbest person I've ever met." Blue muttered back.

 **oooo**

 _"Why do you want to know about my grandson?"_ Professor Oak asked.

"We might have found some information concerning him." Blue explained. Red kept to the background, not bothered with all this stupid serious talk.

 _" . . . He's alive?"_ Professor Oak whispered in shock.

"Uh . . . maybe." Blue answered reluctantly. "We're not entirely sure. I just need a picture of him, maybe a bit more information about him? I don't wanna get your hopes up, but . . ."

 _"If there's even the smallest chance that Green's still alive, I'm willing to do anything to help."_ Professor Oak informed her. _"What do you need to know?"_

"Well . . . mostly about if he showed any signs of being psychic." Blue said. "I came up with a theory last night that maybe he was kidnapped for some reason. The kids who attacked the mental hospital have wiped the minds of all the doctors."

 _"I certainly see your point . . . but I'm not sure. I . . . didn't honestly pay much attention to him, a fact that I deeply regret now."_ the old man sighed, running a hand over his face tiredly. _"The only extraordinary thing about him was that he could . . . well, he claimed to be able to understand what pokemon were saying."_

Red glanced at Blue sharply, and leaned froward so Professor Oak could see him.

"The guy who was taken- Flynn. Apparently he thought he could understand pokemon too." Red said.

"It's not exactly impossible." Blue frowned. "Aura Adepts can translate what pokemon say through their Aura, and most psychics can understand them- plus there are a select few who can understand pokemon simply because they have a deep connection with them. Does that sound anything like Green?"

 _"I'd like to say the Aura Adepts, but he was never a physical child."_ Professor Oak told them. _"In fact, I'd say he seemed to be a psychic of some sort, but what kind I have no idea. He couldn't read minds, or if he could he certainly kept quiet about it, but he always seemed to know how a person or pokemon was feeling. I remember one day I was hurt, a Growlithe had bitten my hand. Green came out of the house with bandages and disinfectant, and I'd always wondered how he knew I was in pain- I hadn't cried out, and I'm fairly certain he couldn't have seen me from that distance. He just knew I was in pain."_

"So the kid could understand pokemon and was an empath." Red murmured. "Was there anything else?"

"Nice to see you're taking an interest." Blue muttered to him, and Red glared at her.

 _"There was one other thing."_ Professor Oak said, drawing their attention again. _"Sometimes, though not often, when Green was upset . . . things disappeared. In front of my eyes, even. I can't quite remember very well, because it was rare that he ever did get upset, but things would just vanish and suddenly appear somewhere else entirely. And the strange thing is, I don't think Green was Teleporting things."_

"But if it was him, how could it be anything but Teleport?" Blue asked.

 _"Because sometimes I would see a small ripple. Teleport normally just happens, with no warning at all- you only know it's happened after it actually does happen. With this, I'd see a small ripple and suddenly whatever was rippling would just . . . vanish."_ Professor Oak explained. _"I only saw this once or twice, because I'd gotten a good idea of what happened if he got upset and wanted to test out a theory. If he was psychic, then I have no idea what kind- because it looked more like he was simply taking an item from one place and putting it somewhere else without even touching it."_

"That doesn't sound like a psychic power." Blue said.

"Well if he wasn't psychic, what was he?" Red demanded. "He could talk to pokemon, he was an empath, he could . . . not-Teleport things, what was he?"

 _"I'm not sure, but if this helps you two at all . . ."_ Professor Oak sighed and suddenly he looked really, really tired. _"I hope it does. What else did you need? A picture?"_

" . . . Yeah." Blue murmured.

Red was just as concerned as she was. Professor Oak was usually a nice old guy, occasionally really snappy, but he'd never looked as tired as he did right now.

Red was starting to regret bringing up a painful subject like this one. He was also starting to wonder where this Green kid could even be, and what he was doing right now.

 **oooo**

"Toni, stop trying to kill your pokemon!" Green yelled.

"TELL THEM TO GIMME BACK MY FUCKING HAT THEN!"

 _"You'll never take us alive!"_ Hopeless shouted back.

 _"Does that statement even apply to me?"_ Lifeless wondered.

 **oooo**

Only Arceus would know, he supposed.

 _"This is the best one I have of him."_ Professor Oak said, holding up a picture of a small boy with messy brown hair and bright green eyes.

The image looked faintly familiar, but he couldn't remember where from. Red felt like he should have known this kid for some reason.

 _"I'll scan it and email it over. Please, if you find him . . ."_

"We'll bring him back home, don't worry." Red promised, before Blue could.

She looked surprised that he cared, but Red did. This was Professor Oak- the man who'd given him Saur and his pokedex, the entire reason he'd even gone out on a journey to begin with.

Of course he'd want to see the old man happy.

And if bringing his grandson home was the one thing which would do that, then so be it.

They had to wait several minutes for Professor Oak to send the picture, so Blue looked around on the internet to see if she could find any old newspapers with the story about Green Oak's disappearance.

A few of them, because there were loads (this was the grandson of a famous Professor they were talking about), suggested that he'd run away because his parents and grandfather were abusive.

Red had sworn loudly at those, and Blue looked faintly disgusted at the claims.

Others suggested that he'd been the victim of a wild pokemon attack, which made more sense, but the pokemon people had suggested were just stupid- some said wild Rhydons, which didn't even live around Pallet town, and others even suggested wild Oddish.

Yeah . . . no.

There were all kinds of weird stories, and by the time Professor Oak sent them the email with the picture attached, Red and Blue were sick of reading the obvious Tauros-shit.

Blue immediately found an age-up website and started working on it, so Red just decided to have a quick nap leaning against the wall.

He had no idea how long it would take, after all.

But he was surprised when Blue suddenly snapped at him to wake up.

"What, what is it?" he demanded, startled.

"I . . . Just look at this." Blue told him, standing up and dragging him onto the seat. "Fucking look at the picture!"

Red looked at the picture and saw an older version of the little kid they'd seen in the photo.

He got the same feeling he'd gotten when he'd seen the photo, like he should know this kid, but he still couldn't figure it out.

" . . . So? We know what he looks like, why're you so-"

"Where have we seen this boy before, dammit!?" Blue practically yelled.

"What the hell're you-" But then it hit him. Why the kid looked like someone he should know, why this one version of him still made him wonder if he had seen him before. " . . . Oh my Mew."

It was Tommy.

 **oooo**

"But how!?" Red cried, pacing around their room in the pokemon centre. "How is- how is Tommy Men-whatever the _same person_ as Green Oak?"

"They look exactly the same." Blue sighed, eyes narrowed in confusion. "But . . . I don't understand. We asked Professor Oak to look for Tommy and his twin sister, so why didn't he recognise him then?"

Red calmed down a little bit, but it took a lot of effort. "Well . . . they're not doing the Gym challenge, as far as we know. So unless they've done something that got them into the news, there won't be any pictures of them- and no record of them, other than when they got their starters, right?"

" . . . Right. And no one really bothers to take pictures of starting Trainers." Blue said. "Right then . . . okay."

"Hey, if Tommy really is Green, then all we need to do is wait until we run into him and his sister again!" Red exclaimed, grinning. "Then we can take him back to Professor Oak!"

"Think for a second, would you?" Blue snapped, looking up. "Green _never had a twin sister_. He has an older sister, but no twin- so where did Phoebe come from? And if he isn't really Tommy, does that mean she isn't really Phoebe?"

Red paused and stared at her, speechless.

"Didn't think of that, did you." Blue muttered. "Look, I say we don't mention this at all. We don't know the full story, and by confronting Tommy- by confronting Green, we might risk blowing everything without getting a chance to even find out what happened to him. Next time we see them, act like nothing's changed, got it?"

"Why the fuck should we?" Red snapped. "We know who he is! Professor Oak's been looking for him for years, and suddenly he's here- _right now_! Why can't we take him back?"

"Are you even _listening_ to me?" Blue snarled, standing up so suddenly that Red almost took a step back. "We don't know that much about this kid. What we do know is that he's maybe some sort of psychic, with weird abilities we've never even heard of. As far as we know, Phoebe could be the exact same- which makes them _both_ incredibly dangerous! If we just up and tell Green that we know who he is, who's to say he won't react violently?"

" . . . R-right." Red muttered. "So . . . what? We just act like we don't know anything? What if Green reads our minds, though?"

"Moron, he's only an empath." Blue replied. "Which means he can only tell how people are feeling. So as long as we don't betray ourselves with our emotions, we're safe."

"If you say so." Red said, still unconvinced.

Green had had six years to get better at this- if he was a psychic, albeit a weird one, then his powers had probably gotten stronger.

Who's to say he couldn't read Red's mind?

Whatever. That was a question only Green himself could answer.

And then, almost a week later in Olivine city, they ran into Green and Phoebe again. Or Red did anyway.

He had been getting some stuff from the local pokemart, Potions and the like, when he'd noticed a Furret dashing past his feet.

He tripped over it and scowled, almost dropping his things, but then saw who the Furret had run to.

Phoebe squealed something he couldn't hear from this distance, and picked up the Furret- which seemed to be holding some sort of sticker packet for some anime Red couldn't care less about.

Then he saw Tommy- no, Green- come out of a nearby aisle, carrying some travel items.

Red quickly paid for his things and got out of the pokemark as fast as he possibly could.

He found Blue lying in the park with Jiggly, her Jigglypuff.

"I found them!" Red exclaimed, panting. "I . . . hah . . . holy shit . . . I found them."

"Green and Phoebe?" Blue asked, immediately standing up.

"Yeah. They were in the pokemart." Red told her. "What do we do now?"

" . . . Follow them, I suppose." Blue shrugged.

" _Follow_ them?" Red echoed, already disliking the idea. "But wouldn't that just- Green's a- he's a freak, he might think I'm trying to hit on him or something!"

Blue glared at him and Red shrank back.

"Professor Oak didn't care when I told him about the gay thing." Blue snapped. "He only cared that Green was still alive. Why the hell can't you be like that? C'mon, we need to find out where they're going."

Red had no choice but to follow.

Seriously, he could actually remember a time when _he_ was in charge of where he went. Now it was just Blue dragging him off to random places, looking for signs of Team Sovereign, but it didn't seem like those weirdos had appeared here at all.

And now they were following Professor Oak's supposed dead grandson and a girl who wasn't his twin sister.

Blue was a master at this, because she'd been trained for it. Red followed her as closely as possible, which wasn't easy because he was bigger than her and not exactly built for stealth.

They followed Green and Phoebe for some time, though there were several close-calls when Blue had to quickly send out Ditty, her Ditto, and have it disguise the two of them. It was kind of weird, being encased by a slimy pokemon, but it hid them from Green and Phoebe.

The two went to Olivine's port, where Green got two tickets for a ship which was heading for Cianwood city. So it looked like they'd finished whatever they needed and were moving on, like any normal Trainers.

But then, these two kids weren't normal.

Red quickly got two tickets for himself and Blue, for the same ship.

But they both lost sight of Green and Phoebe almost the second they got onboard, because of the crowd. They couldn't even find a Rotom zipping about crazily.

"Dammit, we lost them!" Blue raged, stomping her foot on the floor.

"Great . . . now what do we do?" Red sighed.

"How about explaining why the _fuck_ you're stalking us?"

. . . Shit.

Red and Blue turned around slowly, and saw Green, arms folded, glaring at them. Phoebe was by his side, smirking at them like she'd just found the answer to life itself- or maybe the answer to her need for violence. The Rotom buzzed above their heads, giggling.

"I never thought the Champion would stoop so low." Green went on relentlessly. "Stalking a couple of kids? Nice, real nice work there, you homophobic asswipe."

"Don't you dare-" Red began angrily, but Blue cut him off with a look.

"How many more times do I have to tell you?" she hissed. "Civil, dammit."

"Right, whatever." Red muttered.

"So!" Blue grinned, looking back at Green and Phoebe. "What're you two doing on here?"

"Going to Olivine." Phoebe answered. " . . . Wait, we're already in Olivine. Fuck."

"She means Cianwood." Green sighed. He seemed less angry now, but Red was still gonna try and be careful.

What?

Before, he hadn't known that Tommy was Green, and he also hadn't known that Green was possibly some sort of psychic.

"Really? So're we." Blue replied. "How're you two doing, anyway? Caught any new pokemon?"

"Loads, and Gemless evolved!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Gemless?"

Phoebe spent the next several minutes explaining that her brother was amazing at Game Corners, and had gotten her a Dratini upon her request ("Demand." Green corrected). Then she'd said that Gemless, as she'd called it, had recently evolved into a Dragonair.

Red had to admit, he was kind of impressed.

Not many people could get a Dragon type to evolve so quickly.

The conversation kind of just took place between Green, Phoebe and Blue- Red was left out of it, as he often was.

That was probably his own fault really. Maybe Blue was right.

Maybe he should let the gay thing go.

After all . . . it wasn't like Green wasn't human or anything.

 **oooo**

The rooming on the ship sucked ass.

Red had almost been prepared to let go of Green's . . . unnaturalness, but then everything had flared up once again- simply because he had to share a room with him.

"What!?" Red cried.

"I'm sorry, but the four of you are fairly young." the desk clerk told them. "And, well . . . the two girls can share a room, you and the boy can share one as well. I'm sure this won't be a problem-"

"Listen, buddy." Red hissed, leaning forward. "Do you know who I am? I'm the damn Champion. The strongest Trainer in Kanto and Johto. If I want a room to myself, I will damn well have a room to myself- and I'm not sharing it with _him_ , of all people."

The man was unimpressed.

And so, because the desk clerk was somehow even more stubborn than Red was, he was now sharing a room with Green.

Red decided to take the bed closest to the door, in case he needed to make a quick getaway.

Just because he wasn't into dudes himself (the thought made him shudder) didn't mean that Green wouldn't try anything during the night. Who knew what that kid could do, after all.

And knowing who Green really was did nothing to cool down Red's temper.

But maybe washing his face with cold water would.

The sink was opposite the door, and there was a really cool mirror above it- it was kind of long, so Red could practically see the entire mirror-image of the bathroom, and it had a really cool-looking frame.

A small part of him wondered how Green had managed to pay for this room to begin with, but then he supposed him and his not-sister had saved up.

Or maybe that Rena woman had given them the money for it. She was obviously a strong Trainer, so maybe she had a lot of money as well.

And . . . apparently she was their big sister. But that was obviously Tauros-shit as well, because Green and Phoebe weren't brother and sister, and everything was just confusing so Red just decided to leave it alone for now.

He heard the bathroom door open and glanced in the mirror. Green was just shutting the door when Red spoke.

"What do you want?" Red snapped. "If you wanna take a shower together, you can fuck off."

Green looked up, glaring, but then he looked into the mirror.

For half a second, Red could have sworn he saw Green's eyes turn a weird purple colour.

And then Green started screaming.

Red spun around as Green slammed into the door, eyes wide. The scream was almost unnatural, like something else was screaming alongside him, and then Green somehow managed to get the door open and ran out of the bathroom in terror.

" . . . The hell?" Red wondered, blinking.

He stood there several moments until he realised he should probably check on Green, seeing as the boy was still screaming his head off.

Red rushed into their shared room and stopped, because the door was wide open- and Blue was standing there, mouth open, as Phoebe dashed over to Green and wrapped her arms around him.

"What's the matter? Hey, stop screaming, you sound like a fucking banshee, what's the matter?" Phoebe asked.

Wow, she was bad at comforting someone.

"F-fuck off." Green replied shakily, but Red could hear a small smile in his voice. "I'm . . . f-fine."

"The hell you are- what happened?" Phoebe asked again. She glanced over at Red. "What the _fuck_ did you do my bro, you homophobic little cunt!?"

"N-nothing!" Red cried, as Blue snapped her head around to glare at him. "I swear! I was just washing my face and- he just- . . . he looked at the mirror and started screaming. I have no idea why."

" . . . Oh." Phoebe said, significantly calmer. She looked at Green. "Dude, I keep telling you to stay the fuck away from mirrors."

"I can't help it, the fucking thing was right there!" Green snapped. "It was- oh my Mew- I hate mirrors. So much."

"Uh . . . what's going on, seriously?" Blue asked.

"He's, like, fucking terrified of mirrors." Phoebe explained. "Like, really really terrified of them. He's fine walking past one, but if he looks into one-"

"I don't like mirrors I really don't okay _what else do you need to know_!?" Green shrieked.

Red jerked back, surprised. He hadn't expected this kind of reaction- and all because of a mirror?

Well . . . okay?

Mind you, Blue was scared of bird pokemon. Maybe this mirror fear was like that.

But that didn't explain why Green's eyes had suddenly turned purple.

"Shit, you know what, you two get lost for a bit, we need a private chat." Phoebe said, shooing Red and Blue out. "Out. Out out out. Out. How many more times do I fucking need to- thank you, fucking finally."

Blue closed the door behind them as they went out. She glanced at Red and then dragged him into her and Phoebe's shared room.

"I have another theory." she announced, turning to him once that door was closed as well.

Red groaned.

"Shut up, dammit." Blue snapped. "Listen, I was thinking it over while you were at the pokemart- remember in Ecruteak, when Green called Phoebe Toni?"

" . . . It's a nickname, and why aren't we talking about whatever the fuck just happened?" Red demanded.

"Shut up, I'll get to that. Sometimes those two slipped up and nearly called each other by their actual names, remember?"

"No." Red replied bluntly.

Blue sighed.

"You are the most unobservant person I know . . . look, Phoebe nearly called Green by his real name sometimes, but always managed to correct herself. Green did the same thing- and then he goes and calls her Toni, and says it's just a nickname. What if it's not a nickname?"

" . . . Oh." Red said. "So that means she's really called Toni?"

"Yes! Thank fuck, you got it, finally." Blue muttered. "So now we know both of their names."

"Okay, great. Now what about the thing with the mirror?"

"Well . . . it does seem like he's genuinely scared of mirrors . . . but maybe there's an actual reason, not just that he's got this irrational fear of them." Blue mused, sitting on what was presumably her own bed. "We think Green's a psychic, right? And there are some rumours floating aroud that mirrors show people their souls, or something like that."

"So, what?" Red frowned, sitting on Phoebe- no, Toni's bed. "Green's a psychic, and he sees the souls of people because he looks into mirrors?"

"Probably. Maybe he doesn't like looking in mirrors because he's scared of what he'll see- after all, if he was kidnapped, it's sure to have left some sort of mental scar on him, just like my kidnapping did with me."

Red had never expected Blue to mention her own childhood trauma so casually, but he didn't point it out. It showed she was slowly healing and if he mentioned it, she might go back a step or two. Or ten.

"So he's scared of mirrors because he doesn't want to see his own soul, or anyone else's probably." Blue concluded. "Well . . . we now know as much as we possibly can with just theorising."

"It's actually a lot." Red told her.

"That it is . . . but like I said, we're keeping this quiet. We can't risk Green's reaction- or, actually, we can't risk his _or_ Phoe- Toni's reaction." Blue reminded him. "Got it?"

"I got it, stop reminding me, sheesh!"

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Well, there we go! Red and Blue have finally figured it out! . . . Kind of.

Green: I feel like this is some sort of ass pull.

Renny: Oh shut up. Blue's a smart girl, she can figure shit out- and she is definitely so done with Red's shit, too. But nothing will actually be revealed, at least not to Red and Blue, until some other chapter.

Green: Or next chapter.

Renny: Piss off, I just need to figure out what to do and what to write. Read and review, and I really hope this doesn't seem like total bullshit to you people!


	19. Chapter 19- Smooth Sailing

Renny: Heyyy welcome ba~ack! Let's get right into this-

Green: Weren't you gonna say something about the pace of this fic?

Renny: Oooh yeah. I've said this a lot already, probably, but this fic's gone quickly- it's chapter nineteen, and just last chapter we're already in Olivine city. Compared to this fic's predeccessor, _Redemption_ , this is amazing progress. Mainly because chapter nineteen in _Redemption_ had just barely made it to fucking Goldenrod city, and this one just blasted past it.

Green: And that's a good thing.

Renny: Yep! I think the main reason I got so bored with _Redemption_ is that there was too much plot, basically. Too much shit happened, and when that happened, Green was held up for several chapters in one single place- so I got bored with it and couldn't come up with new ideas for it.

Green: So basically what you're saying is that, with less plot and less chapters, this fic is better?

Renny: Yup. Also because Green isn't in a constant state of depression, though this version of him did obviously have that at one stage- as if chapter seventeen didn't drop it on you lot hard enough.

Green: Yeah, I'm pretty sure no one's paying attention to this anymore. Or maybe they weren't to begin with.

Renny: Ugh whyyyy. Just do the disclaimer so I can wallow in . . . I dunno. Chocolate?

Green: That sounds incredibly unhealthy. Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

The second Red and Blue were gone, Green started to calm himself down.

He had to use several Calm Minds, and Toni had to distract him once or twice (Hyde had messed with him, now he had to be careful not to be too angry _or_ too upset), but eventually he calmed down.

" . . . You okay now?" Toni asked.

"Yeah . . . think so." he sighed.

"What'd you see?"

"The usual, when I look at myself." Green said. "But Red . . . now that's a soul I don't wanna see again."

"Really?"

"It's too confusing. He's fucking perfect and flawless and whatever, at least according to his soul anyway, but then it just switches and becomes this weird twisted version of itself- like it's pissed off at something."

Toni was silent for a second. "We ain't got another Hyde case, right? Cus if we have-"

"No, it's nothing like that." Green reassured her. "It's more like he just expresses himself way too openly- that's why it's so confusing, because normally a person would just try and hide some emotions, and the soul would be whatever they're really like. But with Red it's different, cus he's just . . . open."

"Also a homophobic little bitch." Toni nodded.

"That too." Green agreed. "Incidently, do you want to know why they were following us?"

Toni suddenly looked really interested now.

"They know." Green told her. "Well, not everything- and their theories, or Blue's theories, are kinda choppy and not exactly complete, but they've figured out most of it. Our names, for one thing. They figured out yours just now."

" . . . Damn." Toni whistled. "Either they're really good, or we're really bad."

"Most likely it's a combination of both." Green muttered, standing up slowly. "We're shit at this undercover stuff-"

"No shit Sherlock."

"-fuck you Watson- and Blue's just really smart." Green finished. "Red only knows because he's traveling with her, so . . . basically, he's an idiot. Blue figured it out for herself."

"Uuugh whyyy . . . And here I liked her too, she's cool." Toni mumbled, folding her arms unhappily. "Does this mean you need to wipe her and Red's minds?"

"Not unless you want me to erase their memories completely, no." Green answered.

"FUCK." Toni shouted.

"Cool it." Green told her. "They're just acting like they don't know anything- and since they don't know that we know that they know anything-"

"What?"

"-we're gonna have to act like we don't know that they know anything." Green said. "I'll call Rena once we get to Cianwood, hopefully she'll be able to erase whatever needs to be erased properly. I certainly can't do it, I'm not good at this, and she's way more suited to this shit than I am."

"Dude, any Psychic's better at this shit than you are." Toni scoffed. "But whatever, you're good at the hammer space thing, right?"

"Putting things into a tiny pocket dimension isn't that impressive. About half the Psychic Deviants on the planet can do it."

"Yeah but can they do it as well as you?"

Green went to answer, but then paused.

Actually, no, they couldn't. He wasn't trying to brag or whatever, but his own hammer space was actually far more advanced than anyone else's. That is to say, no one else had imaginary things like that Kangaskhan in their hammer space, because they couldn't create things, just put stuff in and take it back out.

Huh.

Well okay then.

"See?" Toni grinned. "So, anyway . . . when we were coming down to these rooms, I kinda overheard some of the other passengers."

"I'm surprised you listened."

"Shut up. They said there's apparently a tournament thing going on tomorrow- and the winners get free access to whatever they want." Toni told him. "It's a Double battle tournament."

" . . . I'm not sure if you're lying just to distract me from the mirror." Green admitted.

"When have I ever lied to you?" Toni demanded.

Green looked at her.

"I mean, in this room."

"Okay fine, whatever. So we're entering together, then?" Green asked.

"Nope. It's not a tag-team thing, which sucks balls." Toni muttered. "So . . . I dunno, if we don't get knocked out, we might end up battling each other."

"Ooooh that's not gonna end well." Green said, wincing.

"The fuck it won't, it'll be awesome!" Toni cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "An amazing battle between two of the greatest Deviant agents on the planet, a fight to the finish on a dramatic field of carved with the blood, sweat and tears of previous legendary fighters- and whoever wins gets free shit."

"I hope it isn't literal shit."

"No, of course it fucking isn't."

"Knowing you, it might be. What happens if one of us wins and the other doesn't?" Green asked her suspiciously. "It's not like we can share the prize."

"Fuck if I know. I didn't catch enough to know the rules and shit- I'm not you, I can't read their minds." Toni grinned. "But tomorrow, we can go on deck and find out. S'not like we're banned, anyway."

"If we were well-known, we'd have been banned from basically everything." Green mused. "Alright, fine. Do you know where the registration is?"

" . . . Um."

Green sighed and facepalmed. "I'll figure it out tomorrow, don't worry." he mumbled.

"Great, thanks!"

 **oooo**

Though it turned out that Toni didn't actually need to have told Green about the tournament, and they didn't need to worry about where registration was- because that night, during dinner ("Tea, it's fucking tea!" "Toni, shut up."), a member of staff stood up on the stage that was being used for music and stuff and gathered everyone's attention.

"Tomorrow, we are holding a Double battle tournament." the man said into the mic. "I'm sure some of you already know this, whether it is because you heard it from frequent passengers of this ship, or if you're a frequent passenger yourself- hello Joshua, how are you?- so this is mainly for the benefit of those of you who do not know.

"This is not a tag-team battle, so for those of you who were just worrying about working with a random stranger, you have no need to worry anymore. The maximum amount of pokemon you can enter is four, however you are only allowed to use two in one battle. If one pokemon is knocked out, you cannot substitute in another pokemon." the man explained. "If both are knocked out, then you are eliminated from the tournament- it is a knock-out, after all. The prize for winning this tournament is, of course, free access to whatever you wish- be it food, our own personal Game Corner, or even the pool. The full details of the prize is listed in the leaflet we will give you upon entering the tournament."

Several people were muttering about how cool it would be to not have to pay for anything.

Green just wanted to know where to register.

"As you all should be aware, there are limited placements for this tournament. Only thirty-two Trainers will be allowed to enter, but only if you have met certain requirements. Those will be explained when you go to register."

Sly bastards.

That was just another way to make sure people stuck around and actually watched the damn thing- or, well, maybe it was a way to make people feel like idiots and go out of their way to meet those requirements, so they could enter next time.

"Registration will take place on deck, near the field we use for this tournament." the man continued. "It will open at half seven in the morning, and will close an hour later at half nine- because the tournament itself begins at nine in the morning."

At this, Toni groaned and buried her face in her arms, muttering various obscenities about waking up too early to function.

"Also, and I'm sure we don't need to say this after what happened last time, no Endless Battles. Joshua, I'm talking to you."

A long haired man with mismatched eyes started laughing.

"And for the love of whatever you hold dear, do not use the FEAR strategy." the man went on, sighing. "We keep getting complaints about some Trainers who use this strategy, so please . . . make our jobs a little easier."

A few people laughed at that.

The man was just kidding, as Green discovered upon reading his mind. The FEAR strategy was annoying and people did complain, saying it was unfair, and yes the staff did get annoyed with having to deal with the complaints . . . but it wasn't like it was illegal.

FEAR was a legitimate strategy after all.

The man went off stage after a quick farewell, and suddenly the entire dining hall was filled with chatter about the Free Tournament- as it had been nicknamed, because the prize was always the same.

" _Fuuuuck_ I hope we meet whatever requirements they need." Toni muttered, leaning back.

"What if the requirements are Badges?" Green wondered.

" . . . Shit." Toni announced.

"You two never actually bothered to take the Gym challenge, did you?" Blue asked, leaning on the table almost lazily.

She and Red had invited themselves along with Toni and Green to their dinner, because they (mostly Blue) wanted to keep an eye on 'Professor Oak's missing grandson'.

Sheesh, and he'd actually gotten used to not being referred to as some old dude's grandkid. Fuck, he wished Blue wasn't this smart anymore.

At least they weren't actually saying it to his face, more like . . . in their heads.

"No, we just wanna be casual Trainers." Green told her.

"Casual?" Red snorted. "Yeah right. Your Feraligatr and Meganium are strong enough to take Saur and Blasty head-on. That's not fucking casual."

"It is for some, homophobe." Toni replied smoothly.

"Will you stop calling me a-"

"It's only true." Green and Toni said in unison.

" . . . Damn kids . . ." Red muttered.

"Be quiet, Red." Blue sighed, putting a hand over her forehead.

"So, what about you two?" Green asked. "You gonna enter?"

"Hah, no." Red laughed, suddenly gaining back his overconfidence. "Even you two can't beat me, why the hell would anyone here be able to?"

"You never know, some of these people might just be here for the Free Tournament." Green shrugged.

"In which case they're stupid because they're not gonna win."

"You're saying we're gonna win?" Toni asked with a grin. "Or just the one of us, since it ain't no tag-team. Fuck, I wish it was . . ."

"No, I'm just saying that if anyone hopes they're gonna win, they won't- it never does much good to hope to win, they'll just be disappointed in the end. Better to hope for the worst and be surprised, rather than to hope for the best and be disappointed." Red snapped.

That was surprisingly intelligent, coming from Red.

"So basically, whoever's thinking that they're gonna lose . . . is gonna win." Toni said.

"Yep."

" . . . What the fuck, dude, you're Tauros-shitting!"

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Blue and Green watched the two descend into their weird argument.

"Fifty that Red cracks first." Green said.

"You're on." Blue replied.

Ten minutes later, it was Red who cracked- and Blue, sour-faced, handed Green his money.

"You bet on me?" Red barked, offended.

"Yeah, so?" Blue asked him.

" . . . Nevermind." the Champion sighed.

"Hah, Tommy's never lost a gambling thing ever!" Toni cried. "And the winning streak continues!"

"Of course it does, I'd never lose a betting game." Green told her. "Especially since I know you're the most stubborn person on the planet."

"Fuck yeah I am."

And she was, too.

One time, she'd gotten into an argument with Tiago about whether or not shiny Skitty were orange or red. The argument lasted almost half an hour, almost like a damn tennis game, with Tiago insisting that they were orange and Toni insisting that they were red.

Toni won, eventually.

Technically speaking, Skitty were kind of a red colour- maybe it was kind of both, like a weird orange-red, but if you looked at once quickly and didn't see it again (which was highly likely), you'd probably say it was a weird reddish colour.

Yeah, anyway.

Green didn't really bother to read the man's mind- or anyone else's- to find out what the requirements were.

For one thing, it'd look suspicious to Red and Blue if he suddenly knew everything about it despite not actually asking anyone. Not that they weren't suspicious already, but it'd just spark a confrontation he didn't want to deal with.

It was also partly because he wanted to, basically, torture Toni with it. She'd probably beg him to read someone's mind and find out, because it'd be killing her to know, but he wouldn't because it'd be incredibly amusing to watch her beg.

She'd get her own back, he knew, but it was _so_ worth it.

"Hey, Phoebe." Green called, drawing her attention again. "Since you'll probably take half an hour just to wake up, how about I take both of our pokedexes down to register us?"

"Oh, really? Sweet, now I don't need to worry about missing everything!" Toni cried happily.

"What pokemon're you two gonna enter?" Blue asked them curiously.

"I'm thinking Sparkless, for one." Toni said, pointing up at Sparkless, who was actually behaving for once and was probably just waiting for tomorrow so he could unleash whatever energy he had. "Oh, and Fearless and Sightless too- they haven't had a battle together yet."

"Uh, yes they have." Green reminded her. "Training, remember?"

"An actual battle is nothing compared to training." Toni answered flippantly.

"She's got a point." Blue pointed out.

"And then I'm thinking Lifeless, too!" Toni exclaimed. "He hasn't had a battle in a while."

"Twin, Amethyst, Tick and Ziva." Green promptly listed.

"Amethyst is your Graveler, right?" Red checked. "Why do you even have a Graveler, anyway?"

"Because she evolved from a Geodude, why else would I have one?" Green snarked.

"Piss off, you know what I mean!" Red snapped.

"I caught her and she's on my team- I'm not gonna just ignore her." Green scoffed. "I'm not one of those stupid Rockets from last year or whatever."

"Right, sure, whatever."

"And . . . Twin is your Pidgeotto, right?" Blue asked.

" . . . Yeah."

He'd almost forgotten- Blue was scared of birds.

She could do well with small ones, like Pidgey or Spearow, so long as they weren't battling or attacking her or something. Anything bigger and she just couldn't handle it, she'd just panic.

Kind of like Green with mirrors. He was fine with walking past one, it was looking into one that he hated so much.

Maybe if she ever did find out about the whole story (him being a Deviant, in other words) he'd offer to help her get over the fear.

"She won't attack you." Green told her, trying not to sound like he knew exactly what the problem was. "She's a total bitch, sometimes, but even she knows not to attack random people in the crowd- Twin'll keep to the pokemon, don't worry."

" . . . I'm afraid of birds, did you know that?" Blue asked softly.

"Not until now, no." Green lied.

Toni glanced at him, but- to her credit- didn't say a word. She knew better than to say something like 'but you already knew', even though they both knew that Red and Blue sort of knew the truth.

Best to keep the illusion up for as long as possible. If Rena could erase their minds of this, fine.

If not, maybe it would be better if Red and Blue were told. After all, they were technically doing the same thing- and besides, Green and Toni only had two more Deviants to find.

One was in Olivine city, which was why they were heading over there obviously. The other was in Blackthorn city.

After finding the last two Deviants, they could focus on taking down Team Sovereign. Enlisting Red and Blue's help would be beneficial, but they'd have to know the whole story.

So Green wasn't entirely sure whether or not they should know.

 **oooo**

 _"So there's a tournament, but you're not using me or Eon."_ Ice summarised. _"I'm fine with that, but Eon-"_

 _"Why the bloody hell NOT?"_ Eon bellowed. _"A tournament is the perfect oppertunity to show off my blazing spirit, fine-tuned by the training we do every day! I want to show everyone on this damn boat-"_

 _"Ship, I should think."_ Twin corrected him.

 _"-fine, I want to show everyone on this_ ship _what I'm capable of! I've just about gotten Flare Blitz working, and if I can dish out a Blazing Star-"_

"That's kinda the problem." Green broke in, and Eon stared at him. "Blazing Star is more or less a Fire type version of Thunder Beam. If you add in a Sunny Day, like you keep trying, there's no telling what it might do. Also, let's not forget that we'll be surrounded by people on all sides, and Tick might not be able to get up any of his shields fast enough to stop the attack if it goes haywire like it always does. It's not exactly you, really, but more like it's the sheer amount of power you have- you'd just end up flash frying every single battle you'd be in, and that's . . ."

 _"Boring."_ Eon completed, sighing. _"Right, okay, I get it. I'll give the others a chance to shine."_

 _"Thank you for your consideration."_ Amethyst said, so flatly that everyone had to laugh at that. _"But there's still the issue of power if you use_ any _of us- even Tick's far more powerful than any other Togetic, and no offence to any of the Toge line, but they're not exactly the best fighters overall."_

 _"None taken. Most of my species aren't very good fighters."_ Tick agreed.

 _"It's either this or just let Toni break the entire ship with Thunder Beam."_ Ziva pointed out.

Half the team winced at the thought.

"I don't think anyone would wanna swim because of a crazy Rotom." Green admitted. "If we enter too, she'll be more careful- cus she knows damn well what'll happen if she blows something up before _we_ get a chance to do anything."

 _"I'm glad you've got your priorities straight, kid."_ Ice said.

"Okay, we're gonna have to set some restrictions." Green announced to the four who were taking part. "First of all, no combos- at least, not advanced ones like Sun Dance or Hypershot. Stuff like Shield Bounce or Boost are perfectly fine, so long as you don't hurl anything or yourself into a wall or some random person."

 _"That's obvious."_ Ziva agreed.

"And I don't think I should need to say this, but please don't break the ship or the floor." Green told them. "High-powered attacks like Hyper Beam are fine, but try and lower the power to what it normally is- Tick, I'm talking to you here-"

 _"That was one time!"_

"-and also if you actually want to do a combo like Sun Dance, please make sure you don't use an attack that'll break something. I'd rather not have to deal with getting kicked off a ship halfway across the ocean- even if Ice does know Surf." Green concluded. "Is there anything anyone else would like to add, or are we done here?"

 _"I think that's pretty much it."_ Amethyst reported.

"Okay, good."

"Oh my Mew, finally!" Red cried, from his bed. "How long did you need to spend talking to them, seriously?"

"Oh shut up!" Green snapped back. " _I'm_ taking part in this tournament, not you."

"Whatever." Red snorted, as Green's team looked on in amusement. "What the hell kind of team do you have anyway, to have to set your own restrictions? And what the fuck's a Hypershot?"

"They're all really powerful, and Hypershot is a full Hyper Beam without the beam and no recharging time." Green explained.

" . . . How'd you make it without the beam? And why isn't there a recharging time?"

"Mostly because it's more or less a finisher attack." Green shrugged. "It's basically like Thunder Beam but . . . well, it's nearly impossible to dodge because it's so fast-moving you can hardly see it."

" . . . Now I'm kinda scared." Red admitted, sitting up sharply. "Do I need to ask for a whole load of Psychic types to put up a bunch of barriers, just in case?"

"If I was using Eon, then yes. But the others know how to restrain themselves- well, kind of." Green told him.

"Hmph. Never thought a pansy like you would have such a good team . . . then again, you've got a Fairy type, so I guess it makes sense-"

 _YOU TAKE THAT BACK!_ Tick shrieked, buzzing into the air. A bright glow appeared on his hands and Green just about recognised Dazzling Gleam.

"Please don't kill him, the region kinda needs him. Much as I hate to admit it." Green told him.

"You're awfully calm about this!" Red snapped, backing away until his back hit the wall on his bed. "Your damn Togetic just tried to kill me!"

"All he did was tell you to take it back. You were being offensive." Green shrugged. He turned back to his team and held out five pokeballs. "Okay, everyone return- and those of you who're being entered tomorrow, actually get some sleep."

Tick was the only one who wasn't returned, and he buzzed over to Green's bed- still glaring at Red- and then settled down on one of the pillows.

"Hey . . ." Red called. "How powerful is that Togetic, anyway?"

"Very, in case you hadn't heard." Green told him, climbing into the bed.

"Uh-huh . . . he's one of those Psychic ones, right?" Red asked. "That's how come you could understand your team?"

" . . . Yeah, sure." Green said. "Can I go to sleep now, or are there any other pointless questions you want to ask me?"

Red glowered at him, and Green smirked before lying down properly.

 **oooo**

The next morning, early because he wanted to be sure that he and Toni got in, Green woke up and went up to the stern deck of the ship. Or, well, he thought it was called that.

It was above deck and it was at the back of the ship, and the back of the ship was apparently called the stern. So he called it the stern deck. Whatever.

He went up with Tick and found the registration table, where a few people- bleary-eyed and yawning- were already trying to register. It looked like the battle field they would be using was really big and was marked out with white lines, so the battlers had more room.

"Pokedex and Trainer card, please." the woman Green saw said.

"Here- also, I've got my sister's pokedex and card too, she's not exactly awake right now. Or able to function." Green explained. "Is it okay if I register for her too?"

"Sure, as long you know what pokemon she's using."

"I do."

"Good. Now, I'm sure you're wondering about these requirements- unless you've gone ahead and asked some of the regulars?"

Green shook his head, exchanging a glance with Tick.

"Right then. You need at least one secondary-line evolution, which you clearly have if that Togetic isn't an illusion. It's not, is it?"

 _No, I can assure you I'm most certainly a Togetic,_ Tick told her.

The woman blinked, and then nodded slowly. "Right, psychic Togetic . . . I've seen weirder. Second requirement- you need a minimum of one Badge to enter. Do you and your sister have one?"

" . . . Um." Green said smartly.

 _Oh dear,_ Tick added.

"If you don't have one, then you can't enter, kid." the woman sighed. "The amount of people I've had to turn away because of this stupid requirement . . . it's dumb, but it's one of the rules. It's to prove you're actually not just trying to get free stuff, and you're actually somewhat serious about this."

Well, he technically was just trying to get free stuff, but he didn't need a Badge to tell him that he was any good.

Green sighed, and was just about to reach over to grab his and Toni's pokedex and Trainer cards- what the hell was he gonna tell Toni?- when someone put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hold on a second." Red said, gently- surprisingly- pushing Green aside. "Would a recommendation from the current Champion do instead of a Badge, for both of them?"

"Well . . . I-I suppose so . . ." the woman stammered, clearly shocked at the sudden appearance of the Champion.

"Good. These two kids are really good- me and Blue battled their Feraligatr and Meganium, and they almost beat us." Red explained. "I know they're not using either of those in this tournament, but the rest of their teams are just as powerful- if not more so. And they are serious Trainers, they just prefer not to go around challenging the Gyms. Is that good enough?"

"O-of course, sir . . . alright, I'll write them down . . . what pokemon are you using?" the woman asked Green.

Green was still staring at Red in shock.

"Kid?" the woman called, jolting him out of it.

"Um- I'm using my Togetic, Graveler, Pidgeotto and Scyther. My sister- Phoebe- she's using her Rotom, Espeon, Umbreon and Haunter." Green listed.

"Okay, good. Thank you, you can go now." the woman said, waving him away.

She wanted him gone because she was kind of still dazed at actually meeting the Champion of Kanto-Johto, and hearing him recommend two Trainers- not just one, but _two_ \- who didn't even have a single Gym Badge was frankly so amazing that she would have fainted if she didn't have a job to do.

Sometimes Green wondered if anyone actually paid attention to what they were thinking.

Once they were a few metres away from the registration table, Green turned to Red and folded his arms, glaring at him suspiciously.

"What, no thanks?" Red demanded, back to being his usual dick self. "Great, I go through all that trouble to get you and your damn sister into this, and you glare at me like I've offended you somehow."

 _May as well have,_ Tick pointed out.

"Why'd you do that?" Green asked him, silently agreeing with Tick. "Do you think we'll lose and be horribly humiliated or something?"

"Are you actually- you know what, fuck this." Red muttered, and then turned to leave. "I try and be nice for once, like Blue keeps telling me to be, and I don't even get a thanks-"

"Hold it." Green said.

He kind of added in a bit of psychic suggestion to force Red to stop, but not so much that he'd notice the sudden change of his own mind.

"I never said I wasn't grateful, I'm just wondering why you did that for us." Green told him, once he'd turned back around. "You basically hate me because I'm gay, so why? And you hate Phoebe as well."

" . . . Look." Red sighed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I'd kind of guessed that the requirements were Badges- one or two, or whatever. I know neither of you have any, but you're really good Trainers. And don't you dare say something like 'oh I didn't know you could be nice', because I'm not saying this twice and I'm certainly not gonna say what I wanna say if you interrupt."

"Well, say it." Green invited him.

"I . . . I guess you're not that bad. For a-" Red glanced at Tick and decided not to say the next few words. "-you know. But even though you only just started, what, two or three months ago?"

"Sometime in December." Green told him.

"And it's like the beginning of February now, so it's almost three months." Red nodded. "You and your sister are really good already. If you were doing the Gym challenge, maybe you'd be better- who knows- and maybe you wouldn't have made it this far so quickly. But you're still good, and I'd hate to see either of you be disqualified from entering some tournament just because you've decided not to do the Gym challenge unlike just about every dumbass out there."

"You realise this also includes you?"

"What did I say?" Red growled, and Green shut up to let him speak. "You're not that bad and really, I . . . kind of admire you."

" . . . You're not gonna confess that you're in love with me, are you?" Green asked, starting to edge away. Yeah, he liked dudes, but that didn't mean he wanted to suddenly go out with the guy who'd been hating on him for that exact reason.

"No!" Red snapped, but he calmed himself down with a quick, deep breath. "I only said that because I _do_ admire you- _not in that way_ \- for your courage and your sheer power."

"You mean my pokemon's power." Green corrected him.

Tick gave him an approving look.

"Okay, fine, your pokemon's power . . . look, what I'm trying to say is that you're not a bad person and I'm considering just dropping this whole homophobic crap. Maybe my grandparents were wrong- maybe it's not some stupid illness that needs to be dealt with." Red sighed. "I think they're under the impression that being gay- or lesbian- means you're not a proper Trainer or something. Obviously, you've proved that to be completely wrong."

"You didn't tell them about me and they told you to just insult me at every oppertunity, right?" Green had to ask.

"I didn't." Red admitted. "I wanted to, at first, but then I forgot about you because, well . . . it's not like I thought I'd ever run into you or your sister again. But then it kept happening, over and over, and slowly I got to actually looking forward to seeing the two of you again-"

 _Oh my Mew, Mom, he's gonna say he loves you next!_ Tick giggled.

Green had to hide his smirk with his hand.

"Please be quiet." Red muttered, facepalming. Tick did so. "Thanks. You're both insane and unpredictable, and you're actually kind of funny to watch- I swear, I get more laughs out of you two than I do some of those stupid films Blue makes me watch sometimes. And you're really good Trainers, which I didn't even realise until you nearly beat me and Blue. And you're smart, too- you've come up with all sorts of new attacks that even I wouldn't have been able to come up with-"

"Obviously."

Red glared at him but carried on. "-like that Hypershot move. Whatever it is, it sounds really fucking cool, and the point is I guess I don't hate your guts, okay?"

"Yeah, you kinda lost track of what you were saying several times." Green agreed.

"Okay, fine, I'll give you that one . . . So from now on, I'm gonna try and be nicer- and also not constantly insult your choice of sexuality." Red told Green.

Green looked at him for a few moments, carefully digging through his head to see whether or not this was actually true.

Red was reluctant to give up the world views he'd been taught, and had held onto for so long, but maybe with time he'd get better. It wasn't like minds couldn't be changed, and if he did slip up and say something that insulted Green (or anyone, really) he could easily be corrected.

Besides, he needed to lose that damn arrogance of his. Ashley had said that maybe he'd become an arrogant ass because there'd been no one there to mellow him out (which kind of made Green wonder what the fuck Blue had been doing this whole time), so maybe now could be his chance to actually start being a nice person.

After all, if he wasn't careful, he might end up going rogue like Lance did- at least Green knew for sure that whoever was the traitor in the League, it definitely wasn't him.

Red could change.

And Green could try not to give him such a hard time when he was trying to be nice- though he might tease him a few times.

"Alright then." Green said, smiling slightly. "We'd better tell Phoebe and Blue, otherwise they might actually die of shock if you're suddenly being nice."

"Oh, har har . . ."

He'd been right, Toni and Blue were completely shocked.

"Fucking hell, you could have at least warned me!" Blue snapped, hitting Red over the head.

"Ow, son of a-"

"You wanna go and suddenly try to be nice, that's fine, just don't surprise me like that- I thought G- Tommy was pranking me and had somehow gotten you in on it!" she carried on relentlessly.

Green and Toni said nothing about the almost-slip of Blue's tongue.

"Seriously, I was only considering this last night!" Red cried, trying to duck away from her.

"Really?" Toni asked, tilting her head. She glanced at Green.

 _I didn't read his mind last night, the fuck do you want from me?_ he asked her.

Toni gave him a half-lidded, unimpressed look.

"Yes!" Red exclaimed. "I saw Tommy's team, and they're all powerful and everything, and the way he is- both of you, really- that made me think. Okay? Is it so wrong to believe that I can change?"

"Be less of a dick and maybe I'll believe you." Blue fired back.

"He's apparently gonna try and be less of a dick too." Green volunteered. "I know, it's incredibly shocking, but he did get me and Phoebe into the tournament. Because he was being nice."

" . . . I may need to sit down." Toni admitted. "Really? Red, of _all_ people?"

"Seriously, is it that hard to believe!?" Red shouted.

"Yes." Blue told him bluntly.

Red groaned loudly.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: I was originally planning on having the entire tournament in this as well, but then I thought that'd just take way too long, so it'll have to be split into a two-parter or something, like _Mind Games_ was.

Green: And suddenly Red's decided he's gonna try to not be a homophobic little fucktard?

Renny: Green's made him re-evaluate how he sees the world, basically. And yes, this change is actually just as sudden as that- as unbelievable as it sounds, there are some people who can change overnight just by simply overthinking. I'm willing to bet that Red probably didn't get much sleep the previous night.

Green: What about his grandparents?

Renny: . . . Fuck if I know, I'll sort them out when the time comes. Or I'll just handwave them. Who cares, they're not actual characters in this fic- anyway. Read and review!


	20. Chapter 20- Special Episode- Priceless

Renny: THIS IS NOT A PRANK EPISODE. It's just a Special one, kinda like what I used to do for _Redemption_ , which explains the backstory of a certain red-haired girl.

Green: You felt the need to explain this why?

Renny: Just in case anyone thought this was another prank episode. Anyway, this chapter was actually created after I got about halfway through the real chapter twenty, so chapter twenty-one is actually the original chapter twenty.

Green: That's slightly weird.

Renny: Well, the battles're gonna split the chapter in half unless I want to have a reeeaaaally long chapter, so this'd look kinda weird in the middle of them. But anyway. This is an entirely different chapter- because it's in first person! For once. Disclaimer please!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

I'm Toni Lithium.

No, that's actually not my real name.

To be honest with you, I actually kinda can't _remember_ my real name- maybe I could at some point, but I can't anymore. And, actually, I'm glad I can't remember.

I was abandoned by my parents when I was five years old.

I had no idea why, because it was just so sudden- at least, to me it was.

Anyone else probably would have noticed the signs, like when they stopped picking me up or even touching me completely. I just thought they were playing a silly prank on me, even if it did last for months.

They spoke to me less and less, until eventually they hardly spoke one word to me a week- I though _that_ was a prank, too.

As you may as already guessed, I'm not exactly the most intelligent person.

It was only years later, when I told Green everything I could remember, that I realised the signs of the so-called 'sudden abandonment'.

I already knew the reason- because I'm a Deviant.

Of course, I had no idea what the fuck one was at the time, and my parents presumably didn't either. I just had a strange connection with pokemon, and for some strange reason I really liked playing with electronics.

I could make unplugged stuff work. Like, this one time I remember I unplugged the TV for the fun of it, and then I zapped it.

It worked for almost three weeks without being plugged in, and it took my parents three _days_ to realise that it actually was unplugged.

I also started sparking when I got mad. That was probably the big indicator that I was some sort of half-pokemon freak.

They left me alone in some forest in England on my fifth birthday.

For the first half an hour, I thought it was a birthday surprise- they'd done the same thing the year previously, I think- so I sat on a rock and waited.

I even waited when I realised they weren't going to come back.

For three days I sat on that rock, chewing on some leaves from a nearby bush, waiting for my mom and dad to come and take me home. I was hungry and I was thirsty, and the leaves were not helping me at all.

That was when I met Needleless.

She looked after me, taught me how to live wild- even though our species were so far apart even a blind person could have told the difference. She was, and still is, a bit of a stuck-up bitch.

But Needleless loved me like I was her own child. As a Beedrill, she could protect me from any kind of threat, mainly because she was the most powerful pokemon in the entire forest. Even the Flying types didn't dare challenge her.

In six months, I became more like a pokemon than a person. My powers- which had gained an extra type, as I realised a couple of months after meeting Needleless- helped me to live with the wild pokemon, and my ability to actually understand them made me one of them.

Then some humans came into the forest and found me and Needleless.

They were agents from the city- Zo was one of them, and he didn't even give a fuck, he just ran straight up to me and started sparking.

It's one of the few good memories I can remember in full detail.

Me and Needleless- because of course she had to come with me, she was like my fucking mom or something- were taken to the city.

I met the others- Ashley, Kai, Kiara, Anna and Adrik- and had a room all to myself and Needleless. I loved it, and it was amazing because I was surrounded by people just like me, people who were also half-pokemon.

I was with Deviants.

It was actually Kiara who suggested making up a new name for myself. Ashley says I didn't wanna be called by my old one, because my parents weren't my parents anymore or something, and no one knew what to do. Until Kiara spoke up (one of the few fucking times she ever did) and told me to just make up a new one.

So I did, and now I'm called Toni Lithium!

But then, a few months after I was extracted, another kid came in.

He was the same age as me- maybe a bit younger.

Neron was the one who introduced us to him- I dunno why, maybe this was a special case or something.

The boy's name was Green Oak.

At first I had no clue why he called that, because he had the darkest purple eyes I'd ever seen in my entire life.

But since he was the only one who was my age, I decided to try and make friends with him. After all, he was in the same private dorm as me, if we didn't get along it'd be fucking awkward as balls.

"Hi there, I'm Toni!"

" . . ."

He didn't say a single word. Not one. Not even a little peep.

I remember I followed him around a lot, because we didn't really have that much to do besides training back then. No missions or anything, it was just training for three hours a day and then every other hour it was 'do whatever the fuck you want cus you're just kiddies' or whatever.

So I followed him and tried to make friends with him.

Zo sometimes jokes that we were like a comedy act- sometimes I'd lose my temper, sparking as usual, and I'd start shouting at Green to say fucking something.

And he'd look at me blankly, and the lack of absolutely anything in his eyes would just make me wonder why I was getting mad at someone who was so fucking depressed, and I ended up saying sorry like a million and one times.

I kinda don't see what's so Mew-dammed funny about that, but then again Zo's got a weird sense of humour.

So it's whatever.

But I remember this- it's another one of the few good memories I remember.

One day, me and Green were in the cafeteria. I was talking and talking like usual, and Needleless was muttering something I couldn't hear. Probably telling me to shut the fuck up or else.

Anyway, I was just talking and talking, and I'm not really sure exactly what I said, maybe it was funny or something- but suddenly Green just smiled at me.

And I found out why he was called Green.

His eyes weren't really purple. That was just the colour they'd turned when he'd gotten depressed or some shit.

His eyes were the brightest green I've ever seen in my whole fucking life. _That_ was why he was called Green.

And at that point, even Needleless agreed that he wasn't a lost cause like she'd been saying.

It took fucking forever, like two damn years, but eventually the flickers between poison purple eyes and bright-as-fuck green eyes got more and more frequent.

And one day, he woke up and . . . and he spoke to me.

"Hello, Toni. My name is Green."

That's what he said- I don't even remember where we were or even when he said it, but he just said that to me.

I think it sounded weird, because he hadn't said a word for two entire years, but at least he said something. He was finally replying to what I'd said like two years ago.

And we've been best friends ever since.

I like to say that we've been besties since the day we first met, but he hardly even noticed me- not really, anyway, not until the day when he smiled for the first time.

He's . . . well, he's like my brother. For all I know, he might be my fucking cousin or some shit, but whatever. That's why our cover as twins works so well, cus we're practically twins anyway.

And when I met Sparkless, Green was right there with me- it had only been a year since he'd finally gotten out of his depression, and the flickers between purple and green (he was mostly green) were so rare that I sometimes panicked when his eyes went purple for a few seconds.

Yeah, I kinda blew up a lot of buildings when I met Sparkless . . . Little shit just refused to get into the ball I was using to catch him with.

I didn't even realise he was my partner at that point, I just felt some weird connection with him and assumed that I just liked the little shit of a Rotom because he was kinda like me, the same type and same personality (just more so).

After we blew up the buildings, because I kinda got overexcited and shot off a few Thunders by accident trying to get him, I found out what the connection was.

Basically, I touched his hand thing and I saw Sparkless's _memories_! That was fucking awesome, and it was also the biggest clue that he was my partner.

In fact, I was so preoccupied with Sparkless being my partner that I . . . forgot about the blown-up buildings. Green reminded me and started lecturing me on why the fuck blowing shit up was a really, really bad idea.

"I don't give a crap, I finally found my partner!"

"For the love of Mew, Toni, you can't just go around blowing stuff up!"

Green ain't found his partner yet.

His types're kinda weird- he's actually the only Psychic/Ghost Deviant in existance, as far as anyone else knows. No one knows who his partner could be, because before he came to the city, he was probably pure Psychic type.

Like me, whatever happened to him traumatised him enough that he'd become a Ghost type as well. I was abandoned, and Green . . .

Well . . . it's too horrible to say, really. I can barely think about it without getting upset, and it didn't even happen to me- I hate to think how Green feels about it.

I guess Sparkless would have been my partner even if I was still pure Electric type. I mean, Adrik's just an Ice type and his partner's Weavile.

So maybe Green's partner's a pure Psychic type. Or maybe they're not even a Psychic type at all, who knows!

Oh, and I was also the one who helped him figure out that he liked dick and not pussy.

He just kinda came up to me one day and asked what it was called when a guy liked another guy.

I said there was three words for it- yaoi, love, or being gay.

"What's the difference?" he'd asked.

"Yaoi's the thing on the internet where people ship dudes who may or may not actually like each other. Like Jean and Marco. Love is basically just love. It knows no boundries or some shit. And being gay means you check out dude but it's not exactly love at the moment cus you're not tying yourself down."

"Then I think I'm gay."

"Oh. Sweet, that means I can ship you with any guy I want! Hey, what d'you think of a relationship between you and Neron?"

" . . . Um."

SHOTA.

Heheh.

I'm kidding, I can't imagine Neron having a relationship with Green. Besides, he's got his wife (when she ain't fucking kicked him out of their house again).

Basically . . .

Green's my brother. I love him. And he loves me- even if we fucking argue all the time.

We even like the same animes and movies and whatever, which is kinda why we can get along so well I guess?

He also decided to name his Charmander after Toothless, the black Flygon from _How To Train Your Dragon_ , and his Scyther after Erwin, the awesome commander of the Scouts from _Attack on Titan_.

He found and hatched Tiago's egg just before we met Sparkless. It was amazing to watch and Tiago was adorable. Until he opened his beak. Then I just wanted him to shut up because literally all he said was swear words and quotes from _Rio_ and _Rio 2_.

Don't get me wrong, I love those movies and the swearing was hilarious, but it got really old really fast. He's not so bad now, but Tiago does have some moments- he's also a worse prankster than me and Green.

Which is saying a lot. Because we're the biggest pranksters in the city, even compared to those two Deviants with the Banette partners.

Moving on.

Green's my best friend. And nothing will change that- because even Neron knows not to split either of us up.

That's why I don't like Red- yeah, he might be trying to be nice or some shit now, but he's a homophobic little bastard.

Anyone who's homophobic doesn't deserve to live in this day and age anymore. Those dicks're like the dudes who still think women shouldn't have jobs or whatever, they're all assholes and I hate every one of them.

I especially hate those Christian idiots who claim that 'Arceus made man and woman for a reason'.

Like, hello, he also gave us _free will_ for a reason! Fucking idiots.

I thought Red was a Christian idiot at first. But no, it turned out he was just a Champion idiot.

I'll get along with him. Kind of. I'll argue, cus it's what I fucking do (it's fun to piss people off, heheh), but I'll try and get along with him.

Because Green says Red's gonna try.

But if that motherfucker makes one homophobic comment . . .

Well, let's just say burnt toast will look very undercooked by the time I'm done with him.

. . . I'm pretty sure this chapter used to be about my backstory . . . Oh well. Green's part of my backstory- it works out, right?

Kind of.

Maybe.

Oh, and by the way, I'm aromantic. You know, that sexuality where you ain't attracted to eoither gender? I literally do not give two shits about relationships.

I'm content to stand back and squee over Green's future relationships with hot dudes.

He's the uke. Definitely.

I do not give a fuck what he says, he is _so_ the uke. Tsundere uke.

Squeeeee!

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Toni's right, I kinda lost track of this . . . oh well, her backstory was literally 'got abandoned at five for being a freak, met Green at six and then proceeded to try and befriend him for two years while he was in a permanent state of Poison Purple'. Yes, that Poison Purple.

Green: Wait, I was Poison for two whole years? How did I not kill everything in sight?

Renny: Cus that was basically a different kind of Poision? Fuck if I know, I just make half of this shit up as I go along. It's plot, okay, get hell over it. It makes sense in context. Read and review, people!


	21. Chapter 21- Wings of Change

**This message is to the bastard Guest who said "Hoe you better update this" . . .**

 **I literally can't actually use proper words just to tell you how much you- and those words- have pissed me off.**

 **Congrats, you cunt, if it wasn't for you this message wouldn't have been needed.**

 **DO NOT CALL ME A HOE YOU BASTARD.**

 **Yes, I'm female.**

 **Yes, I'm dirty minded (or I have a sexy imagination).**

 **Yes, I'm taking a while to update this fic.**

 **NO, THIS DOES NOT GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO CALL ME A FUCKING GODDAMN HOE.**

 **You, you little bastard, do not have my apologies. This message is basically for you, anyway. So screw yourself on a damn wooden stick with FUCKING SPLINTERS, I hope you die.**

 **You don't go around calling people hoes just because they're not jumping hoops to please you, you fucking asshole.**

 **I'd call you a lot worse than that but then I'd have to use big words, which unfortunately I don't think you'd understand- because only a sexist** _ **idiot**_ **would write something like that.**

 **You're fucking lucky I took the damn review down. You're also lucky you're just a Guest, and that you didn't write it with an actual account, otherwise you'd never get back on this damn site again and I'd hound you forever if you tried.**

 **UNDERSTAND?**

 **Good. Fucking. Night.**

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Leaving that message aside, I love the pun on this chapter!

Green: . . . _Wings of Change_?

Renny: It's a pun, geddit?

Green: Not . . . really.

Renny: It's like winds of change, but instead of winds, it's wings! Anyone who's read _Redemption_ will probably understand why this chapter's called this. If not, shame on you because it was one of the defining moments in how basically everyone saw Green- also technically a good turning point in the fic itself.

Green: You keep referencing that fic, but you do realise that half the readers haven't even read it for themselves?

Renny: Then good, it means they don't have to go through reading that shitty nonsense unless they actually want to. They can continue reading this piece of fucking awesomeness.

Green: Yesterday you were convinced this was a piece of shit.

Renny: My opinion changes. Daily. Disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

By the time half past eight rolled around, there were thirty-two people entered in the tournament.

Around three times that many people had _tried_ to enter, and had been turned away because they didn't have the requirements necessary, or had just woken up too late and had missed the opportunity after thirty-two people had already gotten in.

Obviously, Toni and Green were the only exceptions to the 'at least one Badge' requirement, because of Red.

"So, how're the matches looking?" Toni asked, wandering over with Sparkless flitting around excitedly above her head.

 _"Fucking finally I get a real battle do you know how long I've been waiting for this-"_

Green tuned him out and answered Toni.

"The good news is we're not battling each other in the first round." Green told her. He pointed to the match board. "Your slot's fifth, you're up against some guy called Maurice."

"And you're fourteenth- second to last." Toni frowned. "Against . . . how the fuck do you pronounce that?"

"Hyzenthlay." Green told her. "Like the _Watership Down_ Nidoran?"

" . . . Ooooh yeah. Wait, that's a real name?"

"Probably not, most likely some parents thought the name was nice and called their daughter that." Green shrugged. "Who knows. It's like with _Harry Potter_ \- most people didn't know the name Hermione even existed until she turned up. Now, all you need to do is mention it and everyone's like 'oh, you mean the girl from _Harry Potter_?' or something."

"Okay, so . . . what's your excuse?" Toni smirked.

"I was named after my eyes, fuck off."

 _"Your entire team- besides Twin- is named after TV characters."_ Tick deadpanned. _"I'm shocked there isn't someone called Green running around in TV land."_

"Really? Are we gonna get into this _now_?"

"That's a can of Ekans I don't wanna open." Toni muttered.

"Good, because the first match is about to start- we'll watch all of them, just to get a good idea of how these people battle. Might be useful, might not be." Green told her.

 _"Depending on whether or not Sparkless doesn't electrocute everything in sight."_ Tick mused, glancing at the still-talking Rotom.

" . . . Apart from that, yeah."

For the first four matches, Green saw that most people appeared to be fairly equal in power.

There was this one woman who used a Plusle and Minun, who were clearly seasoned battlers, but once their opponents- a Sandshrew and a Fletchinder- had taken out the Plusle, the Minun didn't really do that well and got knocked out fairly quickly.

Not very surprising, Plusle and Minun were the kind of pokemon who were only really good at teamwork battles. On their own, if they were trained for it, they probably could be good battle pokemon- but it looked like the woman had relied a little too much on the Plus and Minus abilities.

"How would you have done that differently?" Green asked Toni, because of course he had to ask- she was the expert with all things Electrical.

"Well . . . I'm used to Sparkless, but if I did have a Plusle and Minun, I'd try and teach them both how to fight on their own- and not to rely on those Mew-dammed abilities." Toni said. "A pokemon with fucking Mold Breaker or Mummy or something could easily beat them even if they did use the boost."

Fair enough.

A man who used a Dedenne and a Raichu was slightly better off, because once the Raichu was defeated by the opposing team, the Dedenne switched from support moves to attack moves so quickly that the opponents had very little time to react- and were almost immediately knocked out.

Well. Green kind of wanted to battle that guy, but life didn't really follow a script.

Oh well, he seemed cool anyway.

Before long, it was Toni's turn, and she stepped up to her side of the battlefield with one pokeball in her hand. Sparkless cackled and zipped out onto the field.

A few people seemed confused, but Green overheard their thoughts- they didn't really mind, if a pokemon didn't want to be in a pokeball that was fine by them.

These people were nicer than he'd thought.

"Please send out your pokemon!" the announcer called. " . . . Or, well, your other pokemon."

The last bit was aimed at Toni, who smirked and chucked out Lifeless's pokeball.

He emerged from the ball grinning, and the other Trainer- Maurice- sent out his two pokemon.

" . . . Well damn." Green said. "Where'd you think he got one of those?"

 _"I think maybe I'll ask where he got the Stone from, later on."_ Tick informed Green.

The Togekiss and Stantler crouched into attack positions on the other side of the field.

A few people around Green glanced at Tick, making the connection between the two evolutions, and then looked back at the battle as the announcer spoke again.

"Three, two, one . . . begin!"

"Dazzling Gleam!" Maurice shouted. "Hypnosis!"

Hypnosis could be used for more than just putting pokemon to sleep. Rotoms were hard to catch in a Hypnosis, because they were so damn fast, and Lifeless had been trained to resist sleep attacks just like that one. But no one else except for Toni and Green knew about that.

Maurice was most likely going to try putting both pokemon to sleep and, when that failed, would probably switch to illusion Hypnosis. That was Green's preferred version- he liked doing stuff like that better than putting others to sleep.

Dazzling Gleam was probably going to try and keep Sparkless and Lifeless away while Stantler used his attack, not that it did much because both pokemon just disappeared briefly into Ghost Phase, and then switched back to retaliate.

"Hey, Tommy!" Blue called.

Green didn't jump because he'd sensed them there, coming over. Instead he merely glanced at Red and Blue as they made their way over to him.

"Hi." Green replied.

He was about to say more- maybe ask what they were doing over here, in this section of the crowd (it was mainly just the participants)- when Sparkless screeched and crashed forward in a Wild Charge.

"Woah!" Red exclaimed, as Sparkless bounced off Stantler harshly and then smashed into Togekiss.

 _"SON OF A BI-"_ Togekiss screamed, but her curse was cut short when she saw Sparkless coming in for another Wild Charge.

 _"Come back here and fight you damn pussy c'mon c'mon I've been waiting for a good fight forever!"_ Sparkless shouted. He rushed off in pursuit, leaving Stantler and Lifeless to battle each other.

Stantler looked at Lifeless.

 _"Can we actually hurt each other?"_ Stantler wondered.

Lifeless shrugged, and then threw a Dark Pulse at him.

Stantler, startled, yelped and jumped out of the way- but then the yelp turned into a screech of pain when the Dark Pulse just about managed to clip his back leg.

"Ouch." Blue winced. "That poor Stantler . . ."

"I'm more worried about the Togekiss." Red said, watching the overhead battle- well, it was more like a one-sided slaughter, since Togekiss was just trying to get away from the crazy Rotom.

"He knows how to restrain himself, don't worry." Green reassured the two humans.

" . . . Toni isn't gonna order a Thunder Beam, or whatever it's called, right?"

"Uh, no. First off, that'd break the ship. Second, it'd piss me off." Green answered. "So no, she isn't gonna have Sparkless chuck a Thunder Beam at the poor Togekiss."

Stantler hurled an Energy Ball at Lifeless, which admittedly wasn't gonna do much good because he was half Poison type, but it was presumably the best attack he could think of.

 _"Nice try."_ Lifeless said, catching the Ball in his hand. _"But there's a Meganium on my team- he hits harder than that."_

 _"But that was the best that I-"_

"Stantler, Shadow Ball!" Maurice reminded his pokemon.

Stantler stopped looking worried and started to grin. Lifeless promptly vanished.

Toni was more or less focused on the chase going on between Sparkless and Togekiss, because Lifeless could handle himself- however, Sparkless would probably forget, in the heat of the moment, to not use desctructive attacks like Thunder Beam or Hypershot.

Yeah, Green had lied to Blue and Red. So what?

He lied to people all the time.

"Electro Ball!" Toni called. "Seeker Balls!"

"Seeker Balls?" Blue asked, looking at Green.

"Smaller versions of any Ball attack- like Electro Ball- that can kind of seek out whoever the user wants." Green explained. "It works great for pokemon who refuse to stay the fuck still."

"I'd certainly not stay still, not with the crazy Rotom on my tail." Red muttered. "Jirachi fucking christ, how powerful is it- he?"

"Well, since Rotoms' are considered pseudo-Legendary by just about half the planet . . . very."

The Seeker Electro Balls flashed around, a few latching onto Togekiss and following her no matter where she turned and twisted, while the rest kind of fizzled out when they didn't find a target.

That was kind of the drawback of a Seeker Ball. If one didn't find a target within a few seconds, it'd fizzle out and die- it was a damn good type of attack when hitting more than one pokemon, too.

"Stantler, hit that Haunter already! Shadow Ball again!" he ordered.

Stantler started to charge up the attack again, looking winded. The last few had failed mainly because of poor aim and Lifeless's Ghost Phases.

Unfortunately Maurice had forgotten this was a _Double_ battle, not a Single.

"Sucker Punch!" Toni cried.

Sparkless suddenly switched targets and rammed into Stantler, blowing him back several steps.

The Shadow Ball died out and Lifeless switched back to normal, and then quickly fired a Dark Pulse to cover Sparkless's retreat back to his side.

Togekiss slowly came to a stop just above Stantler. She was covering him, keeping an eye on the two Ghosts hovering several feet away.

"Protect!" Toni suddenly shouted.

A Protect shield flickered up around Lifeless, encasing him in a weird ball.

"Now Sparkless- Discharge!"

"Dammit-" Maurice began.

 _BZZZZAP-ZZT!_

"Why didn't she do that before?" Blue wondered, frowning. "I mean, if the Rotom- Sparkless- knew Discharge all along . . ."

"Discharge isn't exactly Sparkless's best attack." Green told her. "He doesn't like it because he prefers to charge at everything in sight or Thunder Beam it or something. It's just basically used as a finisher, really."

"That's just stupid, what the hell's wrong with her?" Red scoffed. "Can she not control her pokemon or something?"

Green glared at him.

" . . . Sorry." Red said. "But it's still kind of . . . you know."

"Do you wanna piss off a pokemon who can vaporise you?" Green asked.

"No."

"Well then."

There were no hard feelings between Toni and Maurice- he'd only really signed up so he could give Togekiss a battle, she was itching for one- so no one was pissed off or anything.

Toni was kind of surprised when she saw Red and Blue standing next to Green, though.

"The fuck're you two doing here?" she demanded. "Watching people are meant to be on the other side, right?"

"There's nothing in the rules that's stopping us from coming over." Red snapped.

"Yeah, fine, but do you see any other random fuck-faces coming over?"

"You calling me a fuck-face?"

"Yeah I'm calling you a fuck-face! You wanna fucking go?"

"Do _you_ wanna go?"

"Yeah I wanna fucking go!"

" . . . Wow." Blue said, watching them. "Just . . . wow."

 _There are no words,_ Tick sighed.

"It's entertainment, though." Green pointed out.

"I'll give you that one." Blue agreed.

The next several battles were slightly unremarkable- including, and not limited to, some boy who came in with literally a full team of Rattatas, shouting about how they were all in the 'top percentage' and promptly got his ass handed to him by a guy with a Machamp and a Medicham.

Another girl who got through to the second round had a Clefable, which prompted Blue to mention that she had one- called Clefy- who had helped save her and Red's lives back in Saffron city.

Something about evolving with a Moon Stone to beat up three Legendary Birds who'd been fused with the power of not-so-righteous fury or Badges or whatever, Green could just get the full story later on. By reading her mind. Or something.

By the time his battle came around, Green was slightly sick of watching some of the more one-sided battles and hoped that his own- using Tick and Amethyst- wouldn't be so short.

Hyzenthlay was a pretty woman who Green probably would have drooled over if he was straight. She smiled at him, and he smiled back and nodded- and for some reason she looked surprised.

"What's the matter?" Green asked her.

"Sorry, it's just that normally kids I meet aren't polite like you are." Hyzenthlay replied. "You're quite refreshing. I hope we have a good battle, Tommy!"

"Same here!"

"Battlers, please send out your pokemon!" the announcer said into his mic, which Green had started to get a bit bored of after hearing variations of the same words thirteen times. Fourteen now.

Hyzenthlay sent out a rather small Vaporeon who looked battle-hardened, so Green didn't underestimate him based on size. She also sent out a Nidorina, who narrowed her eyes and shook her head to try and intimidate Green.

"WATERSHIP DOOOOOWN!" Toni screamed.

" . . . What?" Hyzenthlay asked.

"Ignore her, she's crazy." Green advised her.

"If you say so . . ."

Green simply nodded to Tick, who buzzed out into the battlefield and waited.

Then he threw out Amethyst's ball.

"Oh, a Graveler? They're such lovely pokemon." Hyzenthlay smiled. "I had one myself, but he left to start a family on Mount Silver-"

The announcer broke in on the story by counting down, and then the battle begun.

Oh well, he'd just go and ask her for the story when the battle was over- Green wouldn't read her mind for it. Hyzenthlay was too nice for that.

What? He had standards.

They weren't very noticable, but he still had standards.

"Houdini, Acid Armour!" Hyzenthlay called. "And Rosa, Double Edge!"

The Vaporeon- Houdini- melted into Acid Armour, turning himself into some sort of puddle.

But then Rosa charged forward and gave them all something else entirely to worry about.

 _Extrasensory and Rock Blast. Don't break the ship,_ Green told his two pokemon.

 _Me? Never!_ Tick laughed.

 _"I'll try not to."_ Amethyst answered out loud.

 _"Try not to WHAT?"_ Rosa shouted, grinning, and then she slammed into Amethyst.

Predictably, since Amethyst was a Rock type, the attack did little damage- and Amethyst quickly grabbed onto Rosa and held her down.

 _She has Poison Point, let her go!_ Green called.

Amethyst didn't answer, already swaying on her feet. She leaned on one hand heavily. Dammit. Looked like Rosa had been trained in abusing her ability.

Tick quickly made use of his Extrasensory to throw Rosa back over to Hyzenthlay.

And then Houdini reminded them of his presence by turning back into his actual form, three feet away from Amethyst, and throwing a Surf right in her face and vanishing back into Acid Armour.

"Oh come on!" Green cried.

"Like I said, I had a Graveler before- I know I need to take her out quickly." Hyzenthlay shrugged. "They are powerful and sturdy pokemon."

Green would have asked how she knew Amethyst was a girl, because not many people could tell, but then he realised that of course she'd know the difference if she'd had a Graveler before.

But it was still kind of unfair.

 _Tick, cover Amethyst and try and fend off Houdini. Amethyst, try and hang on for as long as you can- Thunder Punch Houdini if you can manage it,_ he 'pathed. _Houdini's the priority, he can hide and attack whenever he wants. I won't use my powers for this, so there'll be no telling where he's coming up from._

 _Got it, Mom!_

 _"I'll try . . ."_ Amethyst gasped.

It was cruel to make her continue fighting when she was poisoned. But Green couldn't heal her with Heal Pulse or anything, not in front of this many people, and he didn't have any Potions or whatever (because of his healing abilities, they'd never needed them), and Tick couldn't defend, attack and heal at the same time.

Houdini suddenly popped up again, this time several metres away, and tried to fire off a Hydro Pump at the slowly-weakening Amethyst.

'Tried' being the keyword, because Tick, fast as lightning, threw up a Shield Bounce which turned the Hydro Pump on Rosa instead.

" . . . Huh. I honestly did not expect that." Hyzenthlay admitted, looking at her thoroughly-soaked Nidorina. "What was that?"

"Bounce." Green replied shortly, mind on trying to figure out where Houdini could be.

There were several puddles of water from previous battles, which no one had considered big enough to clean away- they weren't helping at all right now, because Houdini could be any one of them.

No, he would not use his powers to cheat in this battle.

He wouldn't.

 _Mom, it's okay if you use them- no one'll know, not really._

 _I want to see if I can actually win a battle without using my abilities,_ Green replied. _Even if every instinct I have is telling me to. I just want to see._

Tick glanced back at him, and then nodded slowly. He understood.

Technically, he was using one ability- but it was telepathy, and normal psychics used that every day in their own battles. So it didn't count. Sort of.

He glanced at Amethyst, who was as still as, well, rock.

 _Amethyst, are you alright?_ Green asked.

 _"I'm fine- COME HERE YOU LITTLE-"_

She just managed to grab Houdini as he sprung up for another Water attack.

Then she Thunder Punched him.

"I didn't know Graveler could learn Thunder Punch." Hyzenthlay said.

"It's actually pretty easy to teach it." Green replied.

Zo had helped them after sending over his Galvantula, Jojo, who didn't actually know the move himself but had helped Amethyst learn how to use Electric typed energy. She'd turned it into Thunder Punch, obviously.

At least it made Houdini more cautious about where he attacked from.

 _"He's paralysed."_ Amethyst reported, after she'd let the Vaporeon go. _"And very annoyed."_

 _Good- that'll make him less reasonable, he'll make more mistakes. How's the poison?_ Green asked her.

 _"I have a lot of HP, I'm fine for now."_

 _"Seriously, who the hell are you talking to?"_ Rosa demanded.

"Double Kick, then follow up with Brick Break!" Hyzenthlay called.

Tick shot forward and encased Rosa in a box of Barriers before she'd even gone a few feet.

The Nidorina made use of her second order, and smashed apart the Barriers quickly. But Tick kept making more reappear, so she didn't get very far, having to Break a new one as soon as she Broke a previous Barrier.

 _Focus on Houdini, Amethyst. Tick's got Rosa covered,_ Green ordered.

Amethyst nodded and readied her Thunder Punch again.

She kept an eye on all of the puddles closest to her, but Green quickly reminded her that Houdini was being more cautious now that he knew she had Thunder Punch- and then Amethyst amended the error and scanned all of the puddles, even the ones on the pother side of the battlefield.

It was hard to keep an eye on every single one of them at the same time, so when Houdini appeared out of a nearby puddle that she'd overlooked, Amethyst was too surprised to hit him with Thunder Punch.

Instead, she fired off a Tri Attack which blasted him past Tick, who opened up his Barriers briefly to let Houdini sail straight into the box Rosa was failing to Brick Break open.

"And now she uses Tri Attack. That's one impressive Graveler you have, kid!" Hyzenthlay called.

"Technically it's not Tri Attack, she just used Nature Power." Green explained. "We're lucky we're not on a beach or something . . ."

"Yes, the attack would have been Earthquake." Hyzenthlay agreed. "I can tell you're a good Trainer- but! It'll take more than surprises to defeat us!"

At that moment, as if they'd planned it beforehand, Rosa managed to break out of the Barriers. There were only so many that a single pokemon or Deviant could make, and Tick had gone to the limit in trying to keep Rosa and Houdini in his box.

 _Sorry, Mom!_ Tick cried, cringing.

 _It doesn't matter, you kept them in there for a while. Magical Leaf and Gyro Ball- Tick, give Amethyst a Boost as soon as she's close enough._

Tick nodded and shot off several Magical Leaves, keeping Rosa and Houdini busy for a while, as Amethyst quickly got into a rocky ball.

She started spinning, slowly, and then Tick's eyes glowed- and Amethyst shot off at shocking speed towards Rosa and Houdini.

 _"Oh, crap."_ Rosa said.

And then Amethyst smashed into them.

Tick made a gentle slope out of psychic energy, to help Amethyst slow down and come back around to Green's side of the field. Once the two pokemon were in front of him again, Green checked on the other team.

Rosa and Houdini were out cold.

"Congrats, kid!" Hyzenthlay laughed. "I guess surprises did beat us, after all!"

"Thanks!" Green called. "Bet you didn't know Graveler could learn all those attacks, huh?"

"No, I didn't."

Amethyst coughed slightly. _"I'm still poisoned, you know."_

"Shit, sorry." Green said, quieter so only she and Tick could hear. "I'll get you healed."

 **oooo**

"Oh my Mew." Toni said for the seventh time. "She was awesome."

 _"Yeah, no kidding!"_ Amethyst exclaimed, grinning. She'd been healed while the last two matches had been going on.

"And she's named after that female Nidoran from _Watership Down_ , like holy shit, how fucking awesome is that!?"

 _"You need to show me this, it sounds amazing."_

Green sighed. "Great, now we've got another Toni . . ."

 _"Better than trying to stop it."_ Tick pointed out.

True, it was. If he'd tried to stop Toni, she just would have done it anyway- with extra interest thrown in because she loved trolling people for no reason at all.

Yeah, better to just leave her to introduce Amethyst to the movie (and possibly the tv series).

There were now sixteen Trainers left in the Free Tournament. This time around, after he checked the board, Green was battling before Toni was- he was up against some dude who had used a Persian and a Fearow in his previous battle. Green had no idea what his name was, because apparently he hadn't given it in- other than a single letter, K- so he was basically an unknown Trainer.

To everyone but Green, obviously, but there we go.

Since Tick and Amethyst had their go already, he decided to use Twin and Ziva this time around.

"Please send out your pokemon!" the announcer called.

Green was half-tempted to make him say something else entirely.

As it turned out, K was using the Fearow again- along with a fairly freshly evolved Piloswine. He was probably testing her out, to see what sort of power she had before actually using her in a battle that wasn't like this.

Twin and Ziva exchanged a look, and then turned back to the other mismatched pair.

K, apparently not one to mess about, immediately ordered an attack as soon as the announcer gave them the go-ahead. The resulting Powder Snow and Gust turned into some sort of snowy wind at high speed, and it took a quick Wind Shield from Twin to disperse it.

 _Piloswine's not that powerful, I don't think,_ Green told his two pokemon. _Either that or she's holding back just in case._

 _"Perfect."_ was Twin's answer. _"That means we have a better chance at defeating our opponents."_

 _"Don't underestimate them."_ Ziva warned her.

 _"I will not. Hyah!"_

Twin burst forward so suddenly that even Green was surprised, wings glowing with the now-familiar Steel Cutter move. She slashed her wings, aiming at both Fearow and Piloswine, and then followed the Air Cutters up with her own charge.

 _"It appears we are taking the offensive."_ Ziva commented. She split open her wings and buzzed forward, almost as fast as Twin, her blades ready for a Slash.

 _Just be careful- both of them can do serious damage to both your types, Ziva._

She wouldn't forget, he knew that without having to read her mind, but it felt better to tell her anyway as a 'just in case' sort of thing.

"Dammit, why don't you give your pokemon orders!?" K yelled. "Piloswine, Icy Wind! Fearow, Wing Attack!"

And K had watched his battle with Hyzenthlay, obviously.

With the contrasting orders K had given them, it was sort of awkward for both pokemon to attack at the same time- it was fairly obvious to even the dumbest of Trainers that Fearow had never worked with a more or less stationary teammate, and Piloswine wasn't used to having to aim her Ice attacks carefully so she wouldn't hit her teammate.

Fearow clattered to the floor, having taken nearly the full brunt of the attack, and Green suddenly got the impression that maybe this battle wouldn't take as long as Hyzenthlay's had done.

 _"Watch where you're aiming, Piloswine!"_ Fearow cawed.

 _"Sorry, sorry, I didn't- I'll try better next time!"_

 _Wow, they're kinda shit at this . . . I'd feel bad, but I don't really care- this dude needs to get his act together. Show them what real teamwork is, give them something to be inspired by._

 _"Is that an order to help them or not?"_ Ziva wondered.

Green mentally rolled his eyes at the snark and smirked. _Just do it,_ he told her.

The Scyther glanced back briefly to smirk in return. Then she and Twin snapped out their wings and took off again, dancing around each other to confuse their opponents- if Twin went one way and the two focused on her, Ziva would immediately zip past their line of sight and get their attention instead. Then Twin did the same after a couple of seconds, and on it went, as the two Flying types steadily got closer.

 _"I think we're basically screwed."_ Fearow observed.

 _"I want to_ be _them."_ Piloswine said in awe.

 _"Too bad, peasant, you cannot!"_ Twin laughed almost evilly, and then slammed into Piloswine's side with a Steel Wing that sent her sprawling across the floor. She then started to circle Fearow, keeping just out of his attacking range even as he tried to Peck her or slap her with a wing.

She was enjoying this, if she'd just called someone 'peasant'. Dammit Toni, why did you havge to teach her to be so haughty about shit?

 _"Keep still for half a second-"_ Fearow began to snap, but then Ziva reminded him of her presence with a Night Slash raking down his wing.

Fearow screeched in pain and recoiled as Ziva and Twin fell back to Green's side of the battlefield to regroup.

 _"I feel like this should be a challenge. Yet it isn't."_ Ziva muttered.

 _Too bad, we can't always have what we want._

 _"You are a very mean Trainer."_

Yes, yes he was. At least he wasn't boring, though, that was a good thing.

Twin shot forward first, after a quick glance at Ziva to briefly confirm their unspoken plan of attack.

Basically, beat the shit out of them until they won.

It was a page out of Toni's book, Green thought, but it worked wonders in most cases- unless, of course, strategy was needed. In which case, it'd be a page from Green's book instead. Aaaand that saying was getting slightly out of hand, so he'd best just focus on the battle.

Green's two pokemon switched between attacking and distracting flawlessly. It was just like they'd practised during training, except there were actual living targets- not just random trees and sticks that Green made float around for moving targets.

So, obviously they were both holding back from blasting Fearow and Piloswine to pieces.

Twin shot forward, wings glowing with the sheen of Steel Wind and going straight for Piloswine. The only one who was actually even remotely an issue was the Fearow, unless Piloswine decided to step it up, so Ziva was keeping him distracted while Twin tried to take out Piloswine.

The Ice/Ground type was almost out of the fight, anyway. She looked like she was on her last legs.

Then Fearow suddenly decided he wasn't taking this shit lying down, and charged at Twin with his beak outstretched. Ziva's annoying distractions weren't working anymore, and he was pissed off.

 _Twin, look out-_ Green began frantically, but then Fearow arrived.

His beak went right through Twin like she was made out of paper.

And Twin screamed.

Green felt her pain like a gunshot to his own side, and he staggered back in shock- he was only vaguely aware of some of the other people behind him shouting, some of them wondering what the hell was wrong with him.

Twin was still screaming, and the sound she made . . . it was splitting his mind open. He had to be careful, if he lost control he could end up killing everyone here, but Twin-

He shook his head, forced himself to look up and saw that Twin's wings were still glowing.

And it was spreading.

Gradually, as Green realised what was happening, the pain he felt- shared- from Twin slowly went away. Twin wasn't screaming anymore. Actually, she wasn't even in pain anymore.

Even from here he could feel the heat from Twin's final evolution.

The entire crowd looked on in shock when Twin finally reared up and broke the light of her evolution from her feathers. She spread her new wings high and screeched, a wordless cry of triumph that had Green grinning despite his earlier terror.

 _"Oh."_ Fearow said.

Twin turned to him.

 _"'Oh', indeed."_ she replied, with all the coldness of winter.

The newly-evolved Pidgeot stretched to her new height and looked him in the eyes. Twin was massive, even for a Pidgeot, and she towered over Fearow easily.

 _"Have at thee!"_ Twin cawed, and shot forward.

 **oooo**

"I still can't believe you lost." Toni said half an hour after the tournament was over.

"I still can't believe Twin evolved." Green half-smiled.

Even after Twin had evolved into a Pidgeot, they still hadn't won- a boost in power that was as sudden as that didn't exactly help much, and she hadn't had enough time to figure out how to actually use that new level of power.

So, when Ziva was eventually taken down (and it was inevitable, even Ziva admitted that), Twin didn't last that long despite taking Piloswine out of the game almost immediately afterwards.

Fearow had far more experience with being fully evolved. Experience versus power was a battle that was one of the most unpredictable on the planet, and experience won in this case.

Thankfully there was no bad blood between the two big birds, even if Twin now had two scars on her chest and back from where Fearow's beak had gone straight through her.

And after the battle, when Green went to find K (Toni tagged along for no damn reason, as usual), he got to make sure there wasn't any bad blood between them either.

"Hi!" Green had called, when he'd found K trying to escape from prying eyes.

"Oh- uh- I'm sorry." K stammered out. "About almost killing your Pidgeotto- I mean, your Pidgeot."

"Oh, she's fine." Green said dismissively. "You're obviously not. First time your pokemon nearly killed another pokemon?"

"Fearow sometimes killed wild pokemon, but that was . . . just hunting. He's got some anger issues- I guess- but I-I didn't think they'd be that bad . . ."

"Don't worry, I said she's fine. And she and Fearow don't hate each other." Green told the man. Then he grinned. "By the way, I gotta say this- I love your name . . . Kenny."

Kenny froze. Stared at him in shock.

"Oh my god . . ." Toni began. "They killed Kenny!"

"You bastards!" Green finished cheerfully.

Kenny had moaned something about stupid parents giving him the worst name ever. Green and Toni disagreed, because Kenny was the best name ever, at least in their opinions.

Looking back, it probably hadn't been a good idea to say that he knew Kenny's real name. It basically told Kenny that they were either stalkers or they had some weird psychic ability. Whatever, at least they finally got to reference _South Park_ without looking like idiots.

"You know, if I hadn't lost that battle, I probably could have won." Green mused thoughtfully.

He absently lifted a few pillows and made them dance around the room, glad that Toni had kicked Blue out of their shared room temporarily so she and Green could talk.

"No, actually, me and you would have battled and we'd have ended up tying." Toni corrected him.

"You sound so certain." Green said suspiciously. "Do you know something I don't?"

"Yeah, the author decided that having another two-parter was pushing it. Also she just wanted to upload this chapter." Toni shrugged. "She was getting really, really fucking annoyed with trying to come up with fight scenes that didn't look half-assed."

Green looked at her.

"You know," he said. "One day I'll figure out what you mean."

"No you won't." Toni grinned.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Those are basically the exact reasons this didn't get turned into yet another two-parter, or even a three-parter. Yes, Twin finally evolved, and yes, I made Green still lose even though she did evolve, and no, I don't really care if it seems half-assed anymore because I just wanna get on with the plot.

Green: That's your excuse for everything.

Renny: When have I ever said those exact words?

Green: *pauses* Uh.

Renny: Hah, I win! Read and review!


	22. Chapter 22- Special Episode- Halloween

Renny: I'm probably not gonna get this done in time for Halloween, but oh well, who gives a crap.

Green: Should I just do the disclaimer?

Renny: Yeah, sure. Most of this'll be explained in the chapter anyway.

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

"Okay, so basically this is the Halloween version of the Special Episode things." Green explained.

"Is that like the Pranks things, but without the pranks?" Toni asked.

"Yes."

"Damn."

Stop complaining, Toni, at least you get to be normal.

Toni paused and thought about that for a second. Then she shrugged. "Yeah, fair enough."

"What are we doing, anyway?" Green wondered. "I mean, the stuff we do for pranks would normally be considered Halloween shit- that one in Ecruteak certainly counts. What, are we just gonna go around scaring the hell out of random people?"

No, actually, something completely different!

" _Buffy_!" Toni cried happily, throwing her arms up in the air. "But also not _Buffy_!"

. . . I'm breaking the fourth wall with you two being here, please don't break anything else.

"Hey, fourth wall break inside a fourth wall break- that's like sixteen walls!" Toni giggled madly.

"I regret letting you watch _Deadpool_ , now." Green grumbled.

"Ah, lighten up, sourpuss."

Can we just get on with this before one of you ends up giving away any _more_ spoilers?

"Too late." Toni said, already wearing her Mega Absol costume.

"Wait, why is she the Mega?" Green demanded.

Because . . . I said so? Fuck it, you can be the Mega, then.

"Aww . . ." Toni whined.

"I win!" Green cheered.

"Not for long, I'll have my revenge you little-"

Aaaand we're gonna start the actual chapter now.

 **oooo**

"You ready yet?" Green called.

"Just a sec!" Toni replied.

He waited, literally for a second, and then like magic Toni came out of their kitchen. She was wearing her Absol costume, which would have been a shiny one if Toni hadn't thrown a temper tantrum in the middle of the shop and demanded a regular blue Absol instead.

"You get to be the damn Mega and I don't." Toni said. "Motherfucking author."

"I have no idea what you mean by that." Green told her. "But this was the last one they had- it was either this or a Jigglypuff."

Toni let out a short bark of obnoxiously loud laughter, and had to grab the back of a nearby chair to stop herself from falling over.

"That would have been a sight . . . and it was the girl's version, too!" she cackled.

"So is this one."

"Yeah, but this one makes you look like a bishie or something." Toni said. She came over and pulled at some of the fake fur, and then frowned, adjusting the horn on the right side of his head. "The Jigglypuff one made you look like a bloody crossdresser. And weirdly enough, you actually looked like a girl too . . ."

"What, because half the dudes in the shop tried to ask me out then and there?" Green dryly asked.

"Well, duh." she replied, like that was all that mattered. "Hold the fuck still, your horn keeps falling down."

"I feel like I should make an inappropriate joke here." Green mused, keeping as still as she couldn't.

"If you're holding back because of me, don't. I'm older than you."

"By three months." Green snapped as she drew back, satisfied.

"Whatever, you're still eleven and I'm twelve, get over yourself!" Toni grinned.

"I will find a Deviant with a Celebi and I'll ask them to throw me back in time a few years, then I'll be the older one!"

"Might not work how you want too, sweetheart." Toni giggled, and then pinched his cheek. "Young whippersnapper."

Green growled at her and she danced away, laughing her ass off.

He was about to give chase- not that it'd be much of one, he'd just Teleport in front of her and dump her in the Artic for a few minutes or something- when the door to the common room opened and Ashley stepped in.

"Making a statement?" Green asked, when he'd turned to face her.

"Too much, do you think?" Ashley wondered, glancing down at her costume.

Or lack of one.

"Maybe just a touch. Unless you're aiming to make all the boys and the lesbians die from nosebleeds, of course, in which case go ahead." Green said.

"It's not working on you, though." Ashley pointed out, leaning against the door.

"Yes, well, I'm gay."

"I'd tap that." Toni casually called, going into the kitchen to drag out Needleless and Erwin.

"I thought you were asexual!" Green shouted back.

"I have _eyes_ , you dumbass!"

"Yesterday she told me she was aromantic." Ashley frowned.

 _"Toni also said that she'll die alone, as a virgin, surrounded by Marvel movies, manga, and a fuck-ton of cat pokemon."_ Toothless informed the woman.

" . . . I honestly have nothing to say to that."

"Nor would anyone else." Green agreed. "Is it actually possible to die a virgin? If I was Toni, I'd literally pay someone to just screw me on my deathbed, then I could die happy."

"And here I thought Adrik's love life was weird." Ashley muttered.

"Adrik has a love life?" Toni frowned as she came back in, finally dragging out their resident Bugs.

Erwin was dressed as the character he was named for, though the costume had to be altered significantly to fit a Scyther, and Needleless was wearing a Wasp costume.

"Original." Ashley deadpanned, upon seeing Needleless's costume.

 _"It was either this or Anansi."_ Needleless sighed. _"This one, at least, makes sense."_ She sent a glare to Toni, who shrugged innocently.

 _"What the hell're you complaining about?"_ Toothless demanded. _"Green dyed my damn scales black, I look like a shiny Charizard! Oh, and let's not forget poor Tiago . . ."_

 _"Unlike you dweebs, I'm actually enjoying this."_ Tiago corrected the dragon.

"Where's Sparkless?" Ashley asked, glancing around their room. "Couldn't you get a costume on him?"

"He kept burning everything, said he wanted to be the Rotom from Pokemon Underground." Toni shrugged. "Which makes literally no sense, since that one's shiny and he isn't."

"It's not like I can dye his electricity." Green pointed out.

"True." Toni admitted. "SPARKLESS GET YOUR SPARKY ASS OUT HERE, WE'RE GOING!"

The ceiling sparked suddenly, and then Sparkless zipped out of the light and hovered around Toni, chattering away excitedly.

 _"This is gonna be awesome I'll be able to Shock Wave random people and they can't tell me off for it cus it's part of my costume HELL YES!"_

 _"No one will be able to tell if you're even wearing a costume. You're not, by the way."_ Erwin corrected the hyperactive Rotom.

 _"SCREW YOU HEATHEN!"_

"That's the shortest sentence I ever heard him say." Ashley observed. "Oh well, you guys all ready? Any questions?"

 _"Why are you naked?"_ Tiago asked.

"Adam and Eve. Let's go!"

 **oooo**

The party was being held on the Rabbi's floor, because his church was the only place big enough to hold all the Deviants and their pokemon.

Green thought the Rabbi would have something to say about Ashley's nakedness, but he just took it in his stride- as did most everyone else, except for newer Deviants who openly stared, some of them shocked and/or offended, and others drooling non-stop.

"Any potentials?" Green asked her, half an hour after they arrived. He and Toni had gotten seperated, but he could at least tell where she was from the periodic bursts of electricity.

"Well, there were these pair of twins . . ." Ashley hummed.

"Pair of twins as in two twins or pair of twins as in two sets of twins?" Green glanced around the room and saw Deviants and pokemon mingling happily. A few people were still staring at Ashley's lack of dress, and he could see that a few more were looking at him.

He made sure to note those ones. He would go through them to see if any of them cared if he was a dude.

"Literally two sets." Ashley grinned down at him. "Two boys and two girls. I may or may not get a fivesome before the night is over. Failing that, I'll just get a threesome."

"Don't let Zo hear you say that, he'll try and make it an orgy."

"I'm sorry, I don't see the downside."

"Point." Green conceded.

Ashley kept looking at him for a few moments, making him slightly uncomfortable. Then she gave him a sly grin and Green wanted to roll his eyes and be anywhere but right next to the damn woman.

"So . . . _you_ got any potentials?" she asked. "Don't spare me the details, kiddo. I wanna know everything."

"I don't think some of the guys I saw around here would want to kiss an eleven year old." Green muttered. "I could probably pass as a really small sixteen year old girl, though. Maybe they'd kiss me then."

"Yeah, you don't even need to change your voice."

Green glared at her sideways for half a second, and then he shoved a weak Shadow Ball into her side.

Ashley shrieked and danced away, hands on her wounded side.

"You little _shit_!" she shouted, drawing the attention of all nearby Deviants who weren't already staring. "You little fucking shit!"

"I regret nothing!" Green shouted, running away as she turned on him. "NOTHING!"

 **oooo**

In a random corner, Adrik leaned against the wall with Weavile skulking by his side. He was getting quite a few stares himself, but the stares he got weren't because he was naked- nor because he was just wearing a standard vampire costume.

Adrik was getting the 'he's hot and brooding and I wanna fuck him' stares.

He glanced up when he heard familiar shouting, and then he heard Ashley's loud voice screaming something he couldn't hear from this distance.

" _Черт английский_." he muttered.

 _"Блин все."_ his partner replied.

Weavile was supposed to be a werewolf. Unfortunately, the fur had frozen, so Weavile didn't look much like a werewolf anymore, just some weird soggy feather-wearing cat.

 **oooo**

Kiara wasn't really saying anything, but that was fine with Kai. He was content to just hang around the punch bowl and watch Kiara glare at anyone who tried to come within ten feet of her, other than him of course.

If he was one of his friends, he'd find that hilarious. As it was, Kai found it blissful because he was a bit too scared to mingle with the other Deviants.

That said, though, some of the Deviants who recognised him nodded briefly as they passed, but didn't stop to say hi. Probably because of Kiara, again.

He tightened his gentle grip on Zorina, who glanced up at him with a content expression. She didn't much like mingling either.

They were both wearing Fire type costumes- for some reason, Zo had thought it'd be a good idea for Kai to dress up as a Growlithe and Zorina as a Ninetales, though Kai and his partner Vulpix had originally wanted to go as Captain America and his signiture pokemon, Braviary. Zo overruled them though.

Kiara and Dark, her Darkrai partner, had decided to go as each other.

It would have been funny, normally, to see a Darkrai wearing what Kiara normally wore, except the glares the two gave everyone who glanced their way didn't give anyone enough time to take in that fact.

She would have let out her Hydreigon, Hydre, but somehow Neron had found out about that plan and had personally come in to shut it down before Kiara could even do anything. Kai still wasn't really sure what it was Kiara had planned to start off with.

Instead of asking, like most people would, Kai just stood with Kiara in comfortable silence.

 **oooo**

"It's a damn shame Rena couldn't make it, though." Zo said, knocking back a glass of wine. "Damn shame."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've got a crush on our resident freelance assassin." Anna said, a small grin on her face.

Tank lingered by her feet, acting the part of a guard dog- which was fine, since his costume was Cerberus. Anna was completing the three-headed theme by dressing up as a three-headed dragon.

"Ewww she's like, way older than me!" Zo stuck his tongue out in disgust, though he looked close to laughing his ass off. "I'm just saying, this party'd be even more kickass with her floating around."

"You do remember what happened last year, right?" Anna asked, because he actually might not. Most people didn't remember.

"So the bottom ten floors were out-of-bounds for a while, what's the big deal?"

"They were out of bounds for three months because Rena somehow managed to find a spell which literally turned the floor into lava. Incidently, _The Floor Is Lava_ is now banned from parties of any type." Anna informed him.

"Damn, but that was half the fun! The Fire types were the other half."

"They literally swam in the lava pretending to be lava blob monsters. The pokemon weren't much better."

Zo shrugged, his yellow wings riding up with his shoulders. His costume was a mixture of a Zapdos and a Raikou. Anna didn't bother to question why.

"Still fun, though." Zo suddenly spotted someone he knew in the crowd, and promptly started dragging Anna- with Tank trailing behind- along with him. "Hey, Duke! How's it going, dude?"

 **oooo**

Toni crept through the crowd, looking for her prey.

Actually, it wasn't her prey, to be specific. It was Green's.

She'd already seen that he was having a hard time finding someone willing to try kissing him (no, he wasn't gonna try anything more, not until he was fifteen at least), so Toni and Sparkless had decided to help him out.

Mostly by zapping anyone even remotely his type in Green's general direction. Which was getting harder to pinpoint since Sparkless had gotten distracted by the lighting system, and Green had apparently pissed off Ashley. He was being chased all over the place now, and Toni was just having to make do with hitting people with weak Thunder Waves so she could remember the potential candidates for her best friend (she could scan for her own electricity within other people).

"What the-" a particularly hot eighteen year old yelped, when she poked his ass.

Toni grinned at him when he turned around. He definitely looked like Green's type (not that he'd ever actually told her what his type was, but Toni just went for guys who looked like they should be in Marvel movies or something).

"What the fuck was that for, you little shit?" the guy snapped. "You're asking for a slap, brat."

"Oooh, okay, no." Toni winced, and then took away the Thunder Wave and wandered off.

Yeah, definitely no. He was hot, sure, but he was mean. Even Toni could tell.

She kept as far away from him as possible- it wasn't hard, he looked like a younger version of that doctor guy from _The Amazing Spider-Man_ who turned into a giant lizard (spoilers)- and decided that she'd first have a little talk with potential candidates instead of just zapping and running.

And, as Toni found several zaps later, it worked perfectly.

Basically, she ended up with about ten different people- all of them under twenty, because Green wouldn't want to be a shota to someone who was four times his age.

No matter how much Toni would squee over it.

 **oooo**

"That was fun." Green said, hours later when the party was finished.

"Damn straight it was!" Toni replied cheerfully. "Did you see Ashley all over those twins? Two sets, holy shit, that's amazing even for her."

"Well, she was walking around naked. I'd be surprised if she only ended up bedding two people."

"It's Ashley, she'd be disappointed if she only ended up with two."

Green agreed to that.

" . . . So, did you get any of the dudes I sent your way?" Toni asked, after a few moments of silence.

Green glared at her flatly. "Some of them were twenty. Most weren't interested, and some of the ones that were interested didn't want to kiss an eleven year old."

"Ashley said you pretended to be a really small sixteen year old a few times." Toni reminded him.

"Yeah, but once it was clear I was a dude and not a chick, they said no. And that one guy who didn't care how old I was or whether or not I was a boy or a girl? He was way too creepy, I'm complaining to Neron about him." Green informed her.

Toni winced. "Yeah, sorry about that perv- I honestly thought he was nineteen. And not, you know, forty-eight."

"I'm sorry, _forty-eight_?" Green spluttered. "He said he was thirty!"

"Oooh, damn. Yeah, we should probably go to Nero like right now."

Well, at least he got to kiss a few people who weren't pervs or straight. Just that one specific thing.

 **oooo**

Green blinked, slightly speechless. "Okay, was that last bit meant to end like that?" he demanded.

It's meant to be funny, okay, get over it. If anyone's wondering, that guy got kicked out of the city . . . and then disappeared, strangely enough. Rena was around on the day he got kicked out, but there isn't any confirmed proof that she was responsible for anything.

"Well, at least there's that. The rest of it was pretty damn funny, though!" Toni grinned.

"I'm sorry, I'm still trying to get over the perv . . ." Green muttered.

"You got to kiss a bunch of other random dudes, get over it."

Think I'll end this here before you guys decide to have a battle in the middle of this room . . .

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: This isn't exactly being uploaded on Halloween, but I'm sure some people'll read it on Halloween and it'll count.

Green: Sure, whatever you say.

Renny: Exactly. Read and review, people!


	23. NEW ACCOUNT

Hey guys. I know this seems kinda sudden, but I'm moving accounts.

The new one is called RennyBanette, and since FF is a bitch for links, you'll either have to type in the name in the search thing or, alternatively, go to this profile page and follow the link there.

This fic will not be posted on my new account. In case you were going to ask.

Anyway, see you guys on my new account!


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